,aSiS5iite!(*;ii.iiiai.. : 


j»;-^B  ^aaM:.i<gaPVritejai»a»jUai^^a.<aBfca<te  ixi  >a«a[idi/WM»atgai«fer-i3.v 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-S) 


A 


..%. 


'<^   C^x 


y. 

^ 


i' 


1.0 


2.8 


150  


IJI 


1.25 


|<°    WW 


22 
2.0 


1.4 


1.6 


Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


4^ 


<v 


^^ 


<?>^ 


^\ 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  NY.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


,.  M-^,.<  .«rv-Vi«y«v««y  - 


CIHM/BCMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHIVI/ICMH 
Collection  de 
m 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  da  microraproductions  historiquas 


^mttrn^ 


'*is&4Utt. 


^m 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


L'lnstitut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
Q.iV  lui  a  6t6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
d«.   ;at  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-dtre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  m6thode  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiquds  ci-dessous. 


0 


D 


D 


D 
D 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommag^e 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  r?3taur6e  et/ou  pellicul6e 


I      I    Cover  title  missing/ 


Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


I      I    Coloured  maps/ 


Cartes  g^ographiques  en  couleur 


Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


I      I    Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Relid  avec  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  reliure  serrde  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  int^rieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajout^es 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte. 
mais,  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  6t6  film^es. 


I      I    Coloured  pages/ 


J3 


D 
D 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommag^es 


□    Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  restaurdes  et/ou  pelliculdes 

□    Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  d^colordes,  tacheti§es  ou  piqu6es 

□    Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d6tach6es 

I      I    Showthrough/ 


Transparence 

Quality  of  prir 

Quality  indgale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  materif 
Comprand  du  materiel  suppl^mentaire 


I      I    Quality  of  print  varies/ 

I      I    Includes  supplementary  material/ 


Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 

Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata.  une  pelure, 
etc..  ont  6t6  filmdes  d  nouveau  de  fapon  d 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


D 


Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  suppldmentaires; 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmd  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqud  ci-dessous. 


10X 


14X 


18X 


22X 


12X 


16X 


20X 


26X 


30X 


2 


24X 


28X 


32X 


>-n- 1  <c».'4  »il!ia^'t»ia..if<iiiwi»Mit<a>;itonit»<n>«»Mfc- 


iplaire 
.es  details 
niques  du 
ent  modifier 
exiger  une 
de  filmage 


I 

s 

ed/ 
)iqu6es 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

Library  of  Congress 
Photoduplication  Service 

The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  Ail 
other  Original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  witn  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  — »>  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


L'exemplaire  filmd  fut  reproduit  grdce  d  la 
g6ndrosit6  de: 

Library  of  Congress 
Photoduplication  Service 

Les  images  suivantes  ont  6t6  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  nettetd  de  l'exemplaire  film6,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimde  son    filmds  en  commenpant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'iliustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  filmds  en  commen^ant  par  la 
premidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'iliustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
derniAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  — ^  signifie  "A  SUIVRE".  le 
symbole  V  lignlfie  "FIN". 


itaire 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
filmds  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diffdrents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clichd,  il  est  filmd  d  partir 
de  I'angle  supdrieur  gauche,  da  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  ndcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mdthode. 


d  by  errata 
Imed  to 

ment 

I.  une  pelure, 

9  fapon  d 

le. 


1 

2 

3 

32X 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

(Hi    ■wM^^"-'^*-'"**'*'''"'''  ***"  'W>»'» 


■  ■-.•■-4*4<jfiv*te»'   V     I 


UMttMiMAMtaM 


w 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH, 
FROM  THE  BUSINESS  MAN'S  STANDPOINT. 


(OontaiHing  Advice  to  the  Tmng  m  the  Krif»  efthe  Dag 
from  ilann  Merchauts  of  Moaton.) 


.^y 


BY  REV.   F.   E.   C;LARK, 

Pastor  of  the  PlUllips  Chnroh,  Boston.     Autho-  of  "Tlie 
Children  and  the  Church  ";  "  Our  Business  Boyd,"  etc. 


BOSTON: 

tMm  *  BHRrARD,  PUBLISIUBa. 

NEW  YORK : 

CMABLB8  T.  DILUNQBAK. 

1885 


?*n 


CuPTRIGilTBD,  1885,  RT  ¥,  G.  GuutK. 


B.  THtJRBTON  tC  Co., 

Printeri  and  Stereotypes, 

FOBTLAMD,   ME. 


1 


Ji 


I  .1 
i  ' 


TO  THE  TODNO  PBOPLB  OP  PHILUP8  ORDBCH 

AND  CONOREOATION, 

WHO  HAVE  EVKH  STAYED  UP  THEIB  PABTOB'g  BAUDS. 


'fffl^  -: 


PREFACE. 


TnK  following  chapters  were  delivered  as  Sunday 
evening  addresses  in  one  of  the  churches  of  Boston, 
to  an  audience  embracing  hundreds  of  young  people, 
among  ^hoin  was  a  ^rge  proportion  of  young  men. 

They  are  now  presented  to  a  larger  audience  with 
the  same  hope  that  first  led  to  their  preparation, 
namely,  that  some  of  those  who  are  about  leaving 
the  home  port  on  life's  voyage  may  be  warned  by  the 
"Danger  Signals"  flying  in  these  pages,  of  storm 
centers  which  would  otherwise  wreck  manhood  and 
womanhood. 

The  direct  form  of  address,  originally  used,  is  con- 
tinned  in  these  pages,  and  the  personal  pronouns  have 
not  been  blotted,  in  order  that  the  young  people  who 
read  these  chapters  may  know,  as  well  as  those  who 
were  spoken  to,  that  they  are  individually  addressed. 

F.  B.   C. 


I 


CONTKNTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTKODUCTORY.  9 

The  Red  Flag  with  a  Black  Ckntkb.  What  is 
THE  Use  op  it.  The  Object  or  this  Book,  The 
Babrieb  between  the  Cleboyhen  and  the  Young 
Men,  An  Attempt  to  Ovebcoub  it.  Letteb  to 
the  Business  Men.  Theib  Response.  "  Fob  the 
Sake  of  the  Boys."  Thk  Pool-Room  and  the 
Pbatbo-Room.    An  Appeal  to  Sblf-Intebest. 

CHAPTER  II. 

KING    ALCOHOL.  16 

Intempebance  a  Witheuino  Simoon.  What  the 
Business  Men  Say.  The  Stoby  ok  a  Mobal 
Wheck.  The  Revenues  of  King  Alcohol.  The 
Numbeb  of  his  Retainebs.  His  Absolute  Poweb 
cvEB  HIS  Subjects.  One  Stbonoeb  than  Kino 
Alcohol. 

CHAPTER  III.   . 

THE  HENCHMEN  OF  KING  ALCOHOL.  38 

King  Alcohol,  too  Wise  to  Come  fob  his  Victims 
Himself,  Sends  his  Bettbb  Looking  Henchmen. 
PaasoNAL   Expbbienoe    of  SncqEssFUL  Business 


.-rn'miAitrSihUu.., ._^ 


6 


CONTENTS. 


Mbx.  Bad  CoMPAxrosrs.  Few  Boys  Eitteb  the 
EiTM  Shops  fob  the  First  Time  Alone.  The  Bos- 
ton Boys'  Solemn  Compact.  Weak  Will— the 
Tbaitor.  Idleness.  Why  Some  op  Boston's  Busi- 
ness Men  ABE  Rich.  Busyness  that  is  not 
Business.    Hope  fob  All. 

CHAPTEn  IV. 
dikt  in  ink.  65 

Why  Many  Business  Men  Place  Bad  Litebatube 
FiBST  among  the  Enemies  op  Youth.  The  Tbee 
WITH  THE  Rotten  Heabt.  The  Insidiousness  of 
THisEvii„  The  Gypsy  Boy's  Vengeance.  Indict- 
ment of  the  Bad  Book.  It  Gives  a  Stbained. 
Unnatural  View  of  Life.  It  Glorifies  Evil. 
It  Leaves  no  Room  fob  th^:  Good.  The  Jelly- 
Bag  Reader.  The  Corrupt  Litkeatobe  op 
Fbance.  Tbee-Fboo  Minds.  What  the  I  aw  can 
Do. 

CHAPTER  V. 

TRASHININK.  78 

Infant  Indian  Exterminators.  Fubtheb  Wise 
Words  fbom  the  Business  Men.  Juvenile  Burg- 
laries AND  Flash  Papers.  One  Hundred  Thou- 
sand People  of  Boston  Keep  Company  with 
Trajn  Wreckers  and  Highwaymen.  The  Cause 
OF  THIS  Trash  in  Ink.    Cheap  Imitation  op  Bub- 

DETTE  AND    MABK    TwAIN.      A  WASTE    OF  TiMB.     A 


mm 


CONTENTS. 


65 


78 


Sum  m  ABiTHMEnc.    The  Scbappt  Mutd  of  thb 
Meke  Nbwspapsb  Readeb.     The   Yodno  Hioh- 

WATUEN  NEAB  BOSTON.      ThE  STORT  OF  THE  JDDOE'S 
80s. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE   LOW    THEATER.  108 

The  Geitebai.  "Theateb  Question"  not  Discussbd. 
Warninos  fbou  the  Business  Men.  The  Mub- 
derer's  Stahting-Point.  The  Pebil  tc  Pubitt 
OF  Chabacter.  The  Low  Theater  Always  Ca- 
ters to  Lust.    Three  Theater  Bili.s.    The  Rum 

.  Shop  Next  Door.  Jesse  jAMha  Plats,  and  their 
"Strong  Situations."  The  Low  Theater  At- 
tempts to  Makb  Black  Appear  White,  and 
Confuses  Moral  Distinctions.  Thb  Tbub  Pio- 
tube  of  Vice. 

CHAPTER  Vir. 

THE  GAMBLING  DEN.  126 

The  Little  Houses  of  Interlaken.  Base-Ball 
Pool-Rooms.  From  the  Prize  Candy  Bag  to  the 
Roulette  Table.  The  Beans  in  a  Bottle.  The 
Soap  Lottery.  What  the  Boston  Merchants 
Have  to  Say.  The  Butcher  Bird  of  the  Commu- 
nity. How  a  Million  Dollars  a  Tear  Change 
Hands.  Revelations  of  an  Old  Gambler.  The 
Gambler's  Prevailing  Traits.  Cupidity  and 
liAziKESs.  Midas'  Ears.  Good  Things  always 
Cost.    The  Devil's  Private  Way. 


1' 


^^ 


; 


I 


®  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  LSPER  OP   IMPURTTT.  148 

The  Dheaded  Lepeb  of  Ancient  Times.  The  more 
Loathsome  Lepek  of  Moderu  Times.  What  the 
Mebchakts  Think  of  Him.  Insanity  or  Suicide. 
The  Three  Doors  by  which  tuis  Leper  Enters 
THE  Heart.  Imagination-Door.  Dr.  Holland's 
Words  of  Wisdom.  Eye-Doob  and  Eab-Doob.  A 
Word  to  Youno  Women.  Keep  Safe  the  Jewel. 
Balls  and  Skating  Rinks,  a  Dancing-Master's 
Opinion.  Out-Door  Sports.  The  Unspeakable 
Turk.    The  Leper  s  End. 

CHAPTER  IX. 
SAPPERS    AND    MINERS    OP    CHARACTER: 
PEIVOLITY,  SELFISHNESS,  DISHONESTY.      172 
At  Petersburg  in  1864.    The  Enemies  that  Work 
Underground  and  IN  THE  Dark.    Frivolity     The 
Wrong  Names  it  Assumes.     The  Laughter  of 
Fools.    Portrait  of  the  Frivolous  Young  Man 
and  Woman.    A  Business  Man's  View.    Selfish- 
ness.    Cultivate  the  Generous    Nature      The 
Moth  Miller  of  Character.    Thomas  Canfield 
Dishonesty.     More   Warnings    from    tue  MerI 
chants.    Honest  George  Washington  and  Honest 
Abraham  Lincoln.    A  Last  WhToper  w  the  Ears 
OF  THE  Boys  and  Girls. 


^■ii 


fc2*n 


148 


:hb 

DB. 
SRS 

d's 
A 

EL. 

k's 

LE 


172 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODITCTOBT. 

The  Red  Flag  wirn  a  Black  Centeb.    What  is  thb 
Use  op  it?    The  Object  op  this  Book.    The  Babri- 

BR  BETWEEN  TUB  CLEKOYHEX  AND  THE  YOUNQ  MEN. 

An  Attempt  to  Ovebcoue  it.  Letter  to  the  Busi- 
ness Men.  Their  Response.  "Fob  the  Sake  09 
THE  BoTS."  The  Pool-Room  and  the  Pbatbb-Rooh. 
An  Appeal  to  Self-Intebest. 

Sometimes  in  stormy  weather  I  look  oflf  toward 
our  Signal  Station,  and  there  see  a  red  flag  with 
a  black  center  fluttering  in  the  breeze  and  I  know 
that  a  beneficent  government  has  ordered  that 
flag  to  be  flung  out  as  a  danger  signal  to  warn  the 
sailor  of  an  approaching  storm.  "What  is  the 
use  of  doing  anything  of  that  sort?"  ihe  objector 
might  say.  "  That  red  flag  won't  saye  the  sailor's 
life.  Provide  a  safe  harbor  and  a  breakwater  to . 
keep  off  the  force  of  the  sea,  and  a  lighthouse  to 
maijc  the  rocks,  and  a  good  dock  for  the  vessel, 
and  never  mind  about  that  red  rag  fluttering 
1*  9 


mm 


tl 


10 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


from  the  Sigual  Station."  "  No,"  says  the  govern- 
ment; "we  will  dredge  out  the  harbor  and  pro- 
vide the  breakwater  and  lighthouse  and  dock, 
and  we  will  also  run  up  the  red  flag  to  tell  the 
mariner  of  his  need  of  refuge."  The  chief  office 
of  every  church  and  minister  of  the  gospel  is  to 
present  the  constructive,  building  truths,  to  lift 
up  the  Cross  and  the  great  Sufferer  upon  it,  as 
the  only  Redemption  of  a  lost  race,  to  tell  of  the 
safe  haven,  and  to  point  out  the  good  roadstead 
where  tempest-tost  vessels  on  life's  ocean  may 
ride  out  the  storm,  but  it  is  also  the  duty  of  every 
church  and  preacher  of  the  gospel  to  warn  the 
mariner  of  approaching  gales.  The  red  flag  saves 
life  as  well  as  the  breakwater  and  the  lighthouse. 

Tlaging  storms  and  fierce  are  abroad.  Before 
we  know  it  our  children  may  be  involved  and 
eternally  wrecked.  For  their  sakes  I  have  felt  it 
my  duty  to  run  up  these  Danger  Signals. 

When  this  conclusion  was  reached  the  next 
question  to  decide  was  how  may  this  best  be 
done. 

Young  men  are  apt  to  feel  that  a  clergyman  is 
more  or  hss  of  a  recluse,  who  shuts  himself  up 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOXTTH. 


11 


with  his  books,  and  knows  little  of  the  temptations 
and  struggles  of  real  life.  A  false  idea  I  believe, 
for  the  most  part,  for  the  wind  howls  and  the 
storms  beat  against  the  study  window  as  well  as 
against  the  counting-house  window;  and  if  any 
one  has  a  chance  to  know  something  of  every  phase 
of  life  and  human  nature  it  is  the  pastor  of  a  mod- 
ern parish.  However,  I  recognize  that  feeling, 
and  know  that  many  half  unconsciously  say  to 
themselves  whenever  a  preacher  presents  a  truth, 
or  utters  a  warning,  "  Oh  yes,  that 's  a  minister's 
vievw ,  that 's  his  businesiL.  He  is  expected  to  say 
such  things." 

Realizing  this  barrier  which  some  of  you  would 
lialf  unconsciously  set  up,  I  have  requested  a  large 
number  of  the  business  men  of  Boston  to  assist 
me  in  running  up  these  danger  signals,  and  ac- 
cordingly sent  out  the  following  circular  letter : 


"Dkab  Sib.  For  the  sake  of  the  boys  and  young 
men  will  you  help  me  point  out  to  them  some  of  the 
dangers  which  lie  in  their  pathway?  I  propose  to  give 
a  short  series  of  addresses  upon  the  "Enemies  of 
Youth "  in  which  I  wish  to  set  before  them  not  only  r 
minister's  views,  but  the  opinions  of  practical  and  sac- 


!?!| 


12 


DAKGEB  8IGNALJ. 


cessful  business  men  such  as  most  of  them  aspire  to  be. 
Such  opinions  will  have  the  greatest  weight  with  them. 

"So  will  you  please  tell  them,  through  mo,  what,  in 
your  view,  are  their  greatest  enemies,  e.g.  rim,  bad 
literature,  gambling  devices,  low  theaters ;  these,  or  any 
other  evils  of  like  nature. 

"  I  would  be  very  glad  of  your  reasons  for  these  views, 
and  of  any  incidents  or  illustrations  which  have  come 
under  your  notice,  which  serve  to  corroborate  them  ;  but 
if  in  asking  for  this  I  am  trespassing  too  much  upon  your 
time,  may  I  ask  yr-  to  indicate  in  a  word  or  two  the  evils 
which  appear  to  you  most  dangerous  and  seductive. 
Yours  in  behalf  of  the  boys, " 

Most  of  these  men  to  whom  I  wrote  thought  it 
worth  their  while  to  answer  my  letter.  More 
than  that,  many  took  great  pains  in  answering  it, 
sending  me  frequently  ten  or  a  dozen  or  fifteen 
pages  of  good  advice. 

Many  of  these  men  are  well  known,  and  have 
been  well  known  for  years  in  commercial  circles 
of  Boston.  Some  of  them  count  their  wealth  by 
millions,  and  all  of  them  have  obtained  what  they 
have,  be  it  much  or  little,  by  honest,  straight- 
forward, manly  dealing.  Their  success  has  been 
true  success,  not  the  glittering  success  of  prosper- 


mmt 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


18 


ous  roguery,  which  is  worse  than  failure.  They 
are  men  for  whom  you  work,  young  men ;  men 
who  watch  some  of  you  from  day  to  day  behind 
the  counter,  men  who  know  thoroughly  your 
temptations  and  diffieulties,  men  who  have  been 
where  you  are  now,  climbing  up  the  ladder,  men 
whose  places  you  aspire  to  fill  one  of  these  days. 

I  haye  been  particularly  pleased  with  the  gener- 
ous response  I  have  received  from  these  busy  men, 
because  it  shows  the  intense  interest  that  these 
merchants  of  Boston  take  in  your  welfare.  Many 
of  them  speak  hearty  words  of  approval  of  this 
attempt  which  I  am  making  to  hoist  these  danger 
signals,  and  thank  me  for  the  opportunity  I  give 
them  of  aiding  you  by  a  word  of  advice. 

These  letters  show  me,  too,  that  the  shrewd  bus- 
iness men  of  Boston  have  their  eyes  upon  you. 
They  take  far  more  notice  of  the  young  men  than 
the  young  men  are  apt  to  think.  They  know  a 
church  from  a  saloon  and  they  know  when  you 
frequent  the  one  and  avoid  the  other.  A  pool- 
room and  a  prayer-room  dO  not  particularly 
resemble  one  another,  and  you  cannot  hoodwink 
those  men  very  long  as  to  the  place  of  your  pref- 


I 


I 


ft: 


14 


DAKOEB  SIGNALS. 


erence.  You  may  think  that  in  a  large  city  you 
are  lost  in  the  crowd,  and  that  nobody  knows  or 
cares  what  you  do  with  your  time  or  your  money, 
but  let  me  tell  you  that  is  a  great  mistake.  Said 
a  very  prominent  and  wealthy  man  of  business  to 
me:  "A  young  man's  calibre  and  habits  are  soon 
known  in  a  business  community.  His  employers 
are  reading  him  while  he  thinks  they  are  reading 
the  morning  paper;  and  he  very  soon  takes  his 
own  place  as  reliable,  honest,  and  worthy  of  pro- 
motion, or  the  reverse." 

Says  another  merchant  prominent  and  honored 
in  many  circles  of  Boston:  "An  employer  can 
quickly  tell  whether  his  clerks  find  their  happi- 
ness in  late  hours  aad  dissipation,  or  in  manly  and 
rational  and  healthy  and  Christ-like  exercise  of 
mind  and  body." 

Says  another  merchant  of  Boston  whose  name 
is  as  widely  known  as  any  between  the  covers  of 
the  Boston  Directory :  "  The  men  who  seek  clerks 
or  employees  for  any  work  seek  those  who  avoid 
dissipation  of  any  description  and  now  as  never 
before." 
This  same  idea  I  find  in  many  letters.    So,  my 


m 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


16 


young  friend,  if  I  cannot  appeal  as  yet  to  a  noble 
Christian  principle  within  you,  if  I  cannot  argue 
with  you  on  the  highest  plain  of  morality,  let  me 
appeal  to  this  lower  motive  of  self-in  rest  while  I 
ask  you  to  give  heed  to  these  "  Danger  Signals." 


i! 
4 


CHAPTER  II. 

KING    ALCOHOL. 

Intkmpkrancb  a  WiTHKBrao  Simoon.  What  the  Busi- 
NKss  Men  Say.  The  Story  of  a  Moral  Wreck. 
The  Revenues  of  King  Alcohol.  The  Xcmbeb  of 
HIS  Retainers.  His  Absolute  Power  over  his  Sub- 
jects.   One  Stronger  than  Kino  Alcohol. 

First  on  the  black  center  of  the  blood-red  flag 
which  I  would  hoist  before  you  I  read  the  word 
"Intemperance."  I  raise  this  signal,  not  because 
this  evil  comes  first,  necessarily,  in  order  of  time, 
not  because  it  is  always  the  most  dangerous,  for 
it  is  too  hideous  to  be  seductive  to  many  of  you, 
but  because,  like  a  hot-breathed,  withering  simoon, 
this  storm  wind  is  always  blowing,  blasting 
everything  strong  and  fair  that  comes  within 
its  influence.  There  are  twenty-nine  hundred 
saloons  in  the  city  of  Boston,  I  understand,  and 
a  thousand  more  unlicensed,  and  every  one  of 
them  is  a  horrible  storm  center  in  which  the  Evil 
One  takes  the  place  of  fabled  Eolus  of  old,  and 
16 


THE  ENEMIES  OP  YODTH. 


17 


seeks  to  wreck  every  fair  bark  upon  the  ocean  of 
life.  When  we  see  at  the  signal  office  a  white 
flf\g  with  a  black  center  raised  over  a  red  flag 
with  a  black  center  we  know  that  it  means  an  off 
shore  cautionary  signsll;  that  is,  t^at  while  tlie 
storm  has  not  passed,  the  prevailing  winds  are 
blowing  off  shore,  and  hence  not  so  dangerous. 
But  in  the  Simoon  of  Intemperance  the  winds 
never  blow  off  shore.  They  are  always  <lriving 
their  hapless  victim  upon  the  rocks  of  destruction 
and  upon  the  wreck-lined  shore  of  eternal  misery. 

Mo^t  of  the  business  men  to  whom  1  applied, 
have  placed  this  evil  at  the  head  of  their  list, 
declaring  it  the  gigantic  curse  of  curses.  One  of 
them  speaks  to  you  in  this  way :  "  The  good 
fellowship  of  friends  is  pleasant,  the  politeness, 
freedom,  desire  not  to  be  considered  green,  are  all 
natural,  but  no  business  man  wants  a  clerk  in  his 
employ,  who  is  a  visitor  at  bar  rooms  or  has  asso- 
ciates who  are  frequenters  of  the  same." 

Says  another :  "  Intemperance  being  the  leader, 
none  of  the  other  vices  can  be  successfully  assail- 
ed unless  this  is  first  controlled.  The  man  who 
bows  to  this  leadership,  though  he  may  be  called 


-iC 


1^  I 


■■  m 
m 


18 


DANQKB  SIGNALS. 


a  man,  has  not  in  my  judgment  the  moral  attri- 
butes in  exercise  which  give  the  quality  of  man- 
hood, having  neither  instinct  nor  reason." 

Says  still  another:  "I  am  decidedly  of  the 
opinion  that  intemneiance  is  by  far  the  greatest 
enemy  that  boys  have  to  contend  with.  At  vari- 
ous times  I  h.ive  had  six  apprentices,  and  nearly 
all  of  them  have  turned  out  badly  and  this  in 
spite  of  ray  best  endeavors  to  have  it  otherwise. 
It  would  be  doing  the  boys  a  great  service  if  you 
can  in  any  way  make  them  see  what  the  result 
will  be  of  such  a  course.  The  difficulty  is  to 
make  them  believe  there  is  any  danger  in  their 
case." 

Says  yet.  another:  "As  I  look  back  over  the  list 
of  my  friends  and  acquaintances  of  the  past  thirty 
years  I  am  pained  to  recall  the  number  of  those 
who  liave  died  or  been  badly  injured  by  this  curse 
of  mankind. 

"The  approaches  of  the  evil  are  so  winsome 
that  the  young  cannot  be  too  constantly  on  their 
guard.  Some  one  has  well  said  that  A-le,  B-eer, 
C-ider  are  the  beginning  of  the  drunkard's  alpha- 
bet.   It  was  Christian  reasoning  which  led  a  gen- 


K 


TH£  BNUMIBS  OF  YOUTH. 


19 


tleraan  daily  dining  with  a  score  of  business 
friends,  when  asked  by  one  of  the  number  why  he 
was  the  only  one  of  the  party  who  never  took 
even  a  glass  of  lager  beer,  to  reply,  that  he  was 
often  tempted  to  do  so.  as  the  flavor  was  appetiz- 
ing to  him,  and  an  occasional  glass  might  do  him 
no  harm,  but  that  he  realized  somewhat  the  evil  of 
intemperance  and  so  was  willing  to  deny  himself 
what  might  be  a  harmless  indulgence  that  he 
might  help  by  his  example  others  who  were  strug- 
gling to  overcome  the  tendency  toward  strong 
and  ruinous  drink." 

I  wish  I  could  give  you  the  many  sad  and 
touching  incidents  which  have  come  to  me  from 
these  men  of  affairs  who  wish  to  save  you  from 
the  misery  which  they  have  witnessed. 

Says  one  whom  many  young  men  in  Boston 
have  occasion  to  revere  and  love :  '•  I  know  a 
young  man  who  formed  the  habit  of  using  the 
social  glass  while  in  college,  which  habit  he  has 
never  been  able  to  fully  overcome,  and  though  he 
has  fine  talents,  has  many  friends,  and  has  held 
important  public  office,  is  occasionally  overcome 
for  a  few  days  at  a  time,  to  his  own  sorrow  and. 


'i 


m 


!■  i 


20 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


shame,  to  the  grief  and  mortification  of  his  friends, 
and  to  loss  of  that  public  confidence  which  might 
otherwise  entitle  him  to  high  position  in  public 
life." 

A  gentleman  who  is  a  leading  partner  in  one  of 
the  largest  firms  of  Boston  sends  you  this  warn- 
ing in  guise  of  an  "o'er  true  tale."     "I  know 
well  a  family,  called  by  my  wife  and  myself  the 
model  family  — so  gentle  and  lovely  in  disposition 
and  so  obedient  to  parents    and    respectful   to 
everybody.      The  eldest   son   expressed  a  hope 
in  Christ  during  Mr.  Moody's  visit  to  this  city 
some  years  since  and  united  with  the  church  of 
which  his  father  and  mother  were  members.     He 
had  never  been  out  into  the  world ;    he  was  sent 
to  a  private  school  in  Co|mecticut,  and,   at  the 
end  of  the  terra,  went  with  his  teacher  and  mem- 
bers of  his  class  to  Europe.     How  or  when  the 
ui)petite  for  spirituous  liquors  got  hold  of  him 
his  father  could  never  learn.     Suffice  it  to  say 
that  for  years  his  parents  and  friends  have  done 
everything  to  break  its  hold,  but,  well-meaning 
as  he  is,  the  temptation  is  too  strong  for  his  will 
and  he  has  almost  broken  his  parents'  hearts." 


■iJi'^h- 


n 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH 


21 


his  friends, 

lich  might 

iu  public 

r  in  one  of 
this  wai-n- 

"I  know 
nyself  the 
iisposition 
pectful  to 
d  a  hope 
•  this  city 
church  of 
bers.     He 

was  sent 
J,  at  the 
md  mem- 
when  the 
i  of  him 
it  to  say 
five  done 
-meaning 
r  his  will 
wta." 


Let  me  give  you  one  more  incident  from  these 
stories  of  the  drink  curse  which  have  about  them 
a  monotony  so  sad  and  sequels  so  appalling. 

This,  too,  comes  from  an  honored  Boston  mer- 
chant, who,  for  a  number  of  years  was  mayor  of  a 
neighboring  city. 

"Some  years  ago,"  he  says,  "a  man  came  to  me 
to  purchasje  a  house.  He  had  a  family, —  a  wife, 
son,  daughter  and  father.  He  bought  a  place 
worth  112,000.  At  that  time  he  was  in  a  very 
prosperous  business  and  had  quite  a  monopoly  of 
it  for  this  part  of  the  country.  He  claimed  to  be 
and  I  think  he  was  worth  150,000.  He  seemed 
to  be  correct  in  all  his  habits ;  his  family  was  an 
interesting  one.  He  kept  his  own.horse  and  car- 
riage, kept  a  hunting  dog,  was  something  of  a 
sportsman,  moved  in  good  society  and  was  gener- 
ally called  a  good  fellow."  And  then  comes  the 
story  of  the  gradual  descent,  the  old,  old  story, 
business  declining,  house  sold,  the  old  father  goes 
out  to  do  chores  for  a  living,  the  family  move 
down  througli  all  the  grades  of  respectability  un- 
til "at  last,"  says  this  gentleman,  "he  came  to 


UMllillip 


22 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


i  i- 


i<)   i 


me  one  day  to  beg,  and  said  that  he,  wife,  and 
daughter  were  living  in  a  garret,  sleeping  on  the 
floor,  getting  a  little  food  when  they  could,  and  he 
and  his  son  getting  drunk  whenever  they  could 
beg  money  enough  to  get  rum.  Later  his  son 
was  sent  to  Deer  Island  for  drunkenness,  and  this 
man  applied  to  me  to  get  him  a  place  on  a  railroad 
at  the  West,  promising  never  to  touch  liquor 
again.  He  kept  his  pledge  for  a  few  months  and 
then  his  poor  wife  came  to  my  office  and  told  me 
that  her  husband  had  fallen  down  stairs  and  brok- 
en his  skull.  Strange  to  say  he  recovered  from 
this  accident  —  but  while  he  was  in  the  hospital 
his  father,  who  had  given  him  all  his  proper- 
ty to  start  him  in  business,  died  in  the  almshouse, 
and  there  was  not  a  friend  or  relation  to  speak  a 
parting  word  to  the  poor  old  man.  But  libtle 
more  remains  to  be  told  of  this  sad,  sad  case," 
continues  the  merchant  who  tells  the  story.  "  I 
saw  the  man  a  few  days  ago.  He  was  partly 
drunk  and  he  came  into  ray  office  under  the  pre- 
tence of  selling  me  something,  but  really  to  beg, 
and  he  owned  to  me  that  he  got  drunk  whenever 


THK   ENEMIES  OF   YOUTH.  28 

lie  had  money ;  did  not  believe  there  was  a  God 
or  a  future,  wanted  to  die,  the  sooner  the  better, 
could  n't  and  would  n't  keep  from  drinking." 

Such  is  the  awful  story,  which  might  be  dupli- 
cated a  thousand  times  today  in  every  large  city,  of 
misery  and  heartache  and  anguish  and  hopeless- 
ness, of  a  soul  in  perdition,  even  in  this  world. 

I  have  spoken  of  this  evil  which  we  are  consid- 
ering under  the  title  —  King  Alcohol.  With 
good  reason  do  I  call  him  King.  Whether  we 
consider  his  revenues  or  the  number  of  his  sub- 
jects or  the  completeness  of  his  authority  over  his 
vassals  we  find  that  no  monarch  exercises  such  a 
wide  and  absolute  sway  as  King  Alcohol. 

Consider  firat  his  revenues :  King  Alcohol, 
with  what  is  paid  into  his  treasury  in  this  one 
land  of  ours,  the  United  States  of  America,  could 
buy  out  today  all  the  presidents  and  crowned 
heads  of  the  old  and  new  world. 

Nine  hundred  millions  of  dollars  is  the  yearly 
liquor  bill  of  the  United  States  alone.  An  almost 
inconceivable  sum.  We  used  to  say  that  Cotton 
was  King,  but  the  value  of  our  cotton  goods  is 
not  a  quarter  part  of  that  sum.    The  value  of 


^ 


KESe 


24 


DANCER   SIGNALS. 


woolen  goods  is  only  about  another  quarter  of 
the  licjuor  bill.     Our  church  property  has  been 
accumulating  for  generations,  and  yet  the  value 
of  all  church  property  in  the  United  States,  of  all 
denominations,  is  less  than  one  half  that  of  the 
liquor  men  pour  down  their  throats  every  year. 
We  boast  of  our  public  schools  and  point  with 
pride  to  our  fine  buildings  and  excellent  system, 
but  the  amount  paid  for  public  education  in  this 
free    republic    is    only    §91,000,000,    while    the 
amount  paid  for  rum,  whiskey,  wine,  and  beer,  is 
$900,000,000.    Our  countrymen  pay  ten  times  as 
much  to  ruin  themselves  body  and  soul  every 
year,  as  they  do  to  educate  the  minds  of  their 
children.     We  think  that  the  contribution  box  is 
passed  pretty  often,  and  that  a  large  sum  must  be 
raised  for  the  conversion  of  the  heathdn  at  home 
und  abroad  in  the  hundred  thousand  churches  of 
our  land,  but  for  every  dollar  that  goes  into  the 
missionary  society  two  hundred  dollars  go   into 
the  till  of  the  rumseller.    The  yearly  liquor  bill 
of  this  country  has  been  represented  by  a  black 
line  four  inches  long,  and  the  amount  given  for 
foreign  and  home  missions  by  all  the  churches  in 


■iiilHMHiWIIil 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


25 


all  this  laud,  is  proportionately  represented  by  &' 
shadowy,  hair-like  line,  almost    too  naiTow    to 
measure. 

Says  Dr.  Dorchester:  "The  indirect  cost  being 
allowed  to  be  as  much  as  the  direct  cost  of  liquors, 
the  total  liquor  bill  would  be  $1,800,000,000,  or 
equal  to  the  aggregate  cost  of  bread,  meat,  wool- 
en and  cotton  goods,  boots  and  shoes,  public  edu- 
cation and-  also  the  production  of  gold  and  silver. 
It  would  pay  off  all  the  state,  county,  and  mu- 
I'icipal  debts  of  the  United  States  and  leave  an 
amount  equal  to  the  yearly  gross  receipts  of  all 
the  railroads  in  the  country.  It  would  pay  the 
national  debt  in  one  year."  So  much  for  the 
revenues  of  King  Alcohol. 

Then  think  of  his  subjects  as  well  as  his  enor- 
mous revenues  and  we  see  what  a  mighty  mon- 
arch we  are  dealing  with.  Among  the  high  and 
the  low  does  he  claim  his  subjects,  among  the 
rich  and  the  poor,  among  the  young  and  the  old. 
He  is  not  dainty  in  his  choice  of  retainers,  this 
old  monarch.  He  claims  sometimes  the  fair 
young  damsel  in  the  careful  home,  but  he  does 
not  despise  the  haggard  bloated  beldame  in  the 
2 


DANGER  SIGKALS. 


brothel.  He  often  seeks  *he  comparatively  pure 
young  man  and  drags  him  out  from  under  his 
father's  roof,  out  of  the  church,  out  of  the  Sunday- 
school  class,  into  his  own  domain,  but  he  is  no 
less  willing  to  accept  the  service  and  tribute  of 
the  old  sot  steeped  in  filth  to  his  very  lips,  and 
he  continues  him  in  his  service  until  every  power 
of  body  and  mind  and  soul  is  corrupted  and 
debauched,  and  he  totters  into  an  untimely  grave 
almost  as  vile,  almost  as  much  of  a  fiend  as  those 
to  whom  he  goes. 

Not  only  is  King  Alcohol  the  monarch  of  indi- 
viduals, but  he  is  ruler  of  cities  and  nations  as 
well.  If  all  indications  which  wise  men  see  are 
not  deceptive  he  is  the  niler  of  the  city  of  Bo» 
ton.  Says  Edward  Everett  Hale:  "This  city  is 
now  governed  by  what  is  virtually  a  corporation 
of  dealers  in  liquor.  There  are  about  twenty- 
nine  hundred  of  them,  rather  more  thpn  less  — 
who  have  been  licensed.  If  we  suppose  that  each 
of  these  men  employs  at  his  bar  two  others,  there 
are  about  ten  thousand  in  all  who  have  one 
purpose,  one  instinct,  one  common  interest. — 
That  interest  is  to  sell  as  much  liquor  every 


THE  ENEMIES  OP  YOUTH. 


87 


day  as  they  can.  The  community  of  interest 
and  of  motive  makes  of  them,  I  say,  virtually  a 
corporation.  They  defend  each  other  when  they 
are  sued.  They  pay  from  a  common  fund  the 
expenses  of  a  trial.  They  vote  for  the  same  can- 
didates when  the  day  of  election  comes,  and 
from  the  government  which  elects  them  they 
expect  and  receive  certain  distinct  services." 

Surely,  whether  we  consider  his  revenues  or 
his  subjects  or  the  army  of  rumsellers  who  officer 
these  subjects,  we  see  that  King  Alcohol  is  a 
mighty  monarch  and  his  sway  an  awful  sway. 

Once  more  we  may  well  call  him  KING  Alco- 
hol when  we  think  of  the  completeness  of  his  do- 
minion and  of  his  authority  over  his  subjects. 

There  have  been  many  tyrants  whose  rule  has 
been  well-nigh  absolute,  but  none  who  ever  possess- 
ed a  tithe  of  the  power  of  this  king.  Many  a 
monarch  has  been  able  to  take  the  life  of  his  sub- 
jects and  confiscate  his  property  and  sequester  his 
estate,  but  none  could  cause  the  heart  to  beat  fast 
or  slow,  and  the  nerves  to  shake,  and  the  brain  to 
reel  at  his  pleasure,  like  King  Alcohol.  Careful 
experiments  have  been  made  in  scientific  circles 


28 


DANGEB  SIGNALS. 


and  it  has  been  proved  beyond  a  doubt  that  very 
small  quantities  of  alcohol,  the  amount  contained 
in  half  a  table-spoonful  of  spirits,  sensibly  and 
decidedly  affects  the  sense  of  touch  or  feeling,  the 
sense  of  weight  or  the  muscular  sense,  and  the 
sense  of  sight  or  vision,  and  makes  them  less 
trustworthy  and  serviceable. 

It  has  been  proved  by  careful,  scientific  experi- 
ment, that  a  wine-glass  of  liquor  will  increase  the 
action  of  the  heart  so  as  to  cause  it  to  do  every 
twenty-four  hoors  from  an  eighth  to  a  quarter 
more  work  than  is  necessary  in  driving  the  blo«d 
throughout  the  system,  thus  weakening  and  wear- 
ing out  the  system  with  every  heart-beat.  There 
was  never  another  tyrant  that  had  such  absolute 
power  us  King  Alcohol,  even  affecting  every  in- 
voluntary motion  of  the  heart. 

Many  a  tyrant,  as  I  have  said,  has  taken  the 
I'fe  of  his  subjects,  but  never  was  there  a  despot 
who  could  compel  his  vassals  to  lose  every  moral 
instinct  until  they  should  hate  father  and  mother, 
aud  beat  and  maul  wife  and  child,  and  perhaps 
murder  their  nearest  kinsman,  yet  this  is  just 
what  King  Alcohol  does,  so  absolute  is  his  con- 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH.  89 

trol.  It  is  not  many  years  ago  since  a  young 
man,  mad  with  drink,  killed  his  father  and  mother 
and  cut  out  their  hearts,  which  he  roasted  and  ate, 
and,  in  fiendish  atrocity,  this  crime  hardly  falls  be- 
low that  which  we  often  read  in  the  daily  printp. 

Many  an  Eastern  Despot  has  confiscated  the 
property  of  his  subjects  and  robbed  them  of  their 
crops  in  harvest,  but  never  was  there  such  a  rob- 
ber chief  as  King  Alcohol  who  every  day  filches 
something  out  of  the  pockets  and  the  estate  of 
every  man  in  America.  Whenever  there  is  a  bad 
harvest,  distress  is  felt  in  every  poor  man's  home 
throughout  the  civilized  world,  but  if  the  seed 
which  is  cast  into  the  mellow  soil  should  fail  to 
produce  one  half  a  crop,  the  misery  which  would 
ensue  would  not  be  one  hundredth  part  of  that 
which  will  be  produced  by  the  seed  which  the 
rumseller  and  the  distiller  and  the  brewer  are 
sowing. 

There  was  a  petty  little  ruler  down  in  one 
of  the  Central  American  States  who,  not  long 
ago,  encroached  on  the  territory  of  his  neighbors, 
and  our  government  thought  it  worth  while  to 
send  to  the  Isthmus  twelve  hundred  troops  to 


wmr- 


30 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


keep  that  little  t)Tant  within  reasonable  bounds, 
lest  he  shoivld  injure  the  property  or  rights 
of  a  few  of  our  citizens,  or  trespass  upon  our 
shadowy  claim  to  a  right  of  way  through  the 
Isthmus,  and  yet,  all  the  while,  a  monster  tyrant, 
who  is  trampling  upon  the  rights  of  ten  thousand 
homes,  yea  upon  the  lives  and  eternal  hopes  of 
millions  of  our  fellow  citizens,  is  allowed  to  go  on 
his  murderous  way  unchecked  and  even  un- 
questioned by  our  national  government,. 

A  short  time  ago  the  story  came  from  Birming- 
ham, as  quoted  by  Mr.  Gustaffeon  in  his  book,  of 
three  little  girls,  nine,  ten,  and  twelve  years  old, 
who  purchased  whiskey,  got  drunk,  and  almost 
died  in  consequence.  The  same  paper  contained 
the  account  of  three  dogs  falling  sick  upon  the 
road  to  the  meet  for  fox  hunting,  presumably 
having  been  poisoned.  In  this  case  great  indig- 
nation was  expressed  by  the  public  and  a  reward 
of  fifty  pounds  offered  for  the  arrest  of  the  poison- 
er. There  was  no  indignation  expressed  at  the 
poisoning  of  the  girls  with  liquor  and  no  reward 
offered  for  the  conviction  of  the  poisoner.  That 
shows  how  touch  more  a  dog  is  worth  than  a 


t1 


3  bounds, 
or  rights 
upon  OUT 
rough  the 
Br  tyrant, 
thousand 
1  hopes  of 
I  to  go  on 
even    vin- 

Birming- 
3  book,  of 
years  old, 
id  almost 
contained 
upon  the 
resumably 
•eat  indig- 
L  a  reward 
he  poison- 
sed  at  the 
no  reward 
ler.  That 
bh  than  a 


THE  ENEMIES  OP  YOUTH. 


81 


girl  in  a  Christian  land.    That  shows  the  sway  of 
King  Alcohol. 

Said  an  English  paper  some  time  since  :  "  On 
Monday  morning  the  magistrates  of  Liverpool  had 
before  them  twenty-two  boys  and  girls  under  the 
age  of  seventeen,  all  of  whom  had  been  found 
beastly  drunk  in  the  public  streets  on  Sunday  and 
unable  to  take  care  of  themselves.  Again  on  a 
given  Sunday  22,000  children  were  counted  in 
the  public-houses  and  beer-shops  of  Manchester ; 
and  a  clergyman,  entering  one  of  the  beer- 
shops  at  one  in  the  morning,  found  it  full  of  boys 
and  girls  drinking."  I  am  glad  to  believe  that 
the  curse  of  juvenile  drinking  has  not  assumed 
proportions  so  tremendous  in  this  land  of  ours, 
but  I  have  been  told  by  a  captain  of  police  in 
this  city  of  Boston,  that  boys  ten  years  old  have 
been  brought  to  his  station  house  too  drunk  to 
get  to  their  homes. 

Such,  young  men,  is  the  horrible,  sickening 
work  of  this  tyrant  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Would  that  I  could  excite  in  you  such  a  loathing 
and  disgust  of  him.  that  you  would  not  only  keep 
yourselves  free  itom  his  shackles,  but  that  you 


MMV 


DANGEB  SIGNALS. 


would  also  arise  in  the  might  of  your  young  man- 
hood to  sweep  from  our  beloved  land  this  curse 
of  the  ages. 

If  a  drop  of  patriotic  blood  courses  through 
your  veins ;  if  you  ever  cry  in  sincerity,  "  God 
bless  our  native  land,"  may  you  also  cry  in  the 
same  breath,  "  down  with  King  Alcohol." 

I  wonder  if  any  one  will  read  this  chapter  who 
feels  that  his  own  manhood  is  being  undermined, 
that  he  is  one  of  the  serfs,  that  he  is  in  the  chain- 
gang,  that  his  master  is  King  Alcohol. 

Let  me  tell  any  one  who  feels  in  thb  way  of  an- 
other King,  a  stronger  King  than  King  Alcohol, 
a  King  with  more  subjects  and  larger  revenues 
and  mightier  power.  I  know  not  how  you  can 
escape  from  King  Alcohol  except  by  transferring 
your  allegiance  to  this  King.  Your  will  is  weak, 
home  influences  are  unavailing,  even  a  mother's 
prayers  and  sobs  you  forget,  your  pledge  will  be 
broken,  the  antidote  that  you  take  will  not  quench 
your  thirat.  This  King  will  be  by  your  side  in 
ever  trying  hour  of  temptation.  He  will  break 
your  shackles.  He  will  rescue  you  from  the 
clutches  of  the  enemy,  He  will  never  leave  you 
nor  forsake  you.    His  name  is  Jesus  Christ. 


CHAPTER  ni. 
THE  hbnchme;n  of  kino  alcohol. 

Kino  ALConoL,  too  Wise  to  Com b  for  ms  VionMS  Him- 
self, Sends  his  Better  Tx>okino  Henohmrn.  Per- 
sonal Experience  of  Successfui^  Business  Mes. 
Bad  Companions.  Few  Boys  Enter  the  Rum 
Shops  for  the  First  Time  Alone.  The  Boston 
Boys'  Solemn  Compact.  Weak  Will— the  Trai- 
tor. Idleness.  Wtty  Some  of  Boston's  Business 
Men  are  Rich.  Busyness  that  is  not  Business. 
Hope  for  All. 

While  speaking  to  you,  in  the  last  chapter,  cor- 
oerning  the  ravages  of  King  Alcohol,  I  was  fully 
aware  that  he  often  did  not  come  himself  to  claim 
his  victims,  but  usually  sent  in  the  first  place  cer- 
tain retainers  Who  are  more  winning  and  attract- 
ive to  look  upon  than  himself.  In  fact  should 
he  come  himself  and  claim  the  allegiance  of  any 
young  man,  his  foul  and  bloated  countenance, 
his  fetid  breath,  his  reeling  gait,  his  rags  and 
wounds,  would  frighten  away  the  most  reckless. 
He  knows  too  much  for  this,  does  this  astute  old 
2*  88     . 


I 


mms^d 


84 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


enemy  of  the  race,  and  so  he  has  a  score  of 
menials,  better  looking  and  better  dressed  than 
himself,  ready  to  do  his  bidding,  and  bring  the 
victim  under  his  swa^-.  My  many  correspondents 
have  recognized  this  truth  and  they  have  pointed 
out  to  me  for  your  s&kes  some  of  these  pimps 
and  procurers  of  the  great  enemy,  some  of  those 
who  fetch  and  carry  for  King  Alcohol. 

I  have  chosen  to  call  them  the  Henchmen  of 
King  Alcohol.  A  henchman,  according  to  the 
original  derivation  of  the  word,  is  one  who  follows 
at  the  haunch  of  the  king  or  noble;  in  other 
words,  one  who  is  always  hovering  near  his  lord, 
ready  to  do  his  bidding.  That  is  exactly  the  po- 
sition of  some  of  these  enemies  of  yours  of  which 
I  shall  speak  in  this  chapter. 

These  henchmen  do  not  lurk  in  the  drinking 
saloon  alone.  They  go  out  upon  the  street,  they 
button-hole  a  .young  man  on  his  way  home  from 
the  prayer-meeting,  they  knuckle  down  with  the 
boy  who  is  playing  marbles  "for  keeps,"  they 
swarm  in  dull  times  when  apprentices  are  out  of 
work,  they  are  particularly  active  at  the  noon 
hour,  and  during  the  long  evening  when  the  day's 


THE  ENEMIES  OP  YOUTH. 


86 


I 


work  is  over,  they  always  rida  in  the  smoking  car, 
they  are  fondof  the  innuendo  and  the  low  jest  and 
the  smutty  story.  When  a  young  man  begins  to 
keep  company  with  them,  they  rarely  leave  him 
until  they  have  carriqd  him  over,  body  and  soul, 
into  the  camp  of  King  Alcohol. 

Several  of  the  successful  men  of  Boston  have 
told  me  the  story  of  their  early  lives,  and  I  notice 
that  in  eveiy  case  these  men  have  not  only  avoided 
the  Prince  of  Evil  who  hides  in  the  demijohn  and 
the  beer-keg,  but  have  given  to  all  his  myrmidons 
a  wide  berth.  Let  me  tell  you  the  story  of  two  or 
three  of  these  successful  lives.  One  man,  who  is 
known  throughout  the  whole  city  for  his  widely- 
bestowed  and  judicious  benevolence,  says:  "I 
came  to  Boston  a  poor  boy  more  than  fifty  years 
ago.  I  came  without  money,  but  with  that  great- 
est of  earthly  blessings,  a  praying  mother  at  home. 
I  came  with  the  full  determination  that,  if  God 
spared  my  li^e,  I  would  be  a  successful  man. 
Every  young  man  should  begin  with  this  determi- 
nation. Then,  having  chosen  some  trade  or  occu- 
pation, stick  to  it,  keeping  the  old  maxim  in 
mind,  'honor  and  shame  from  no  condition  rise.'" 


1.1. 1 IJM 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


That  determination  cherished  and  held  to  and 
realized  at  last  left  no  room  in  that  man's  life  for 
any  of  the  henchmen  of  King  Alcohol. 

Another  one  writes  me :   "I  began  business  a 
poor  boy.    My  mother  died  when  I  was  an  infant. 
My  father  was  a  clergyman,  poor  in  this  world's 
goods,  and  could  give  his  boys  no  financial  help. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  I  began  business  at  the  ago  of 
fifteen  with  a  capital  of  five  dollars.    My  fir.'t 
factory  was  a  one  story  building,  fifteen  feet  by 
twelve  feet.    My  first  product  was  a  carpet  bag 
full  of  the  articles  I  made,  which  I  sold  from  door 
to  door.    I  struggled  with  poverty  and   many 
obstacles.    I  worked  half  the  night  many  a  night, 
and  at  two  or  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  I 
crawled  up  into  the  little  attic  over  my  little 
shop,  hardly  large  enough  for  a  dog  to  sleep  in, 
and  after  an  hour  or  two  of  sleep,  got  up  and  went 
at  it  again.    My  factory  has  grown  to  cover  three 
acres;  my  product  has  grown  from  a  carpetbag 
full  to  six  tons  a  day,  and  the  goo<te  of  my  manu- 
facture are  now  sold  in  every  civilized  country. 
I  never  used  tobacco,  cider,  or  beer.      I  never 
gambled  or  read  low  story  papers  or  dime  novels. 


L 

w 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


87 


but  supplemented  my  meager  educational  advan- 
tages with  good  reading. 

"When  a  young  man  I  canvassed  twenty-two 
states  in  the  Union,  selling  my  goods.  I  always 
refrained  from  business  on  Sunday,  and  went  to 
church  wherever  Sunday  overtook  me,  and  had 
I  a  voice  that  would  drown  Niagara  I  would  say 
to  every  young  man,  'See  to  it  that  you  lay  the 
foundation  of  your  character  well.  Toucli  not, 
taste  not,  beer,  cider,  anything  that  contains 
alcohol.' " 

Still  another  gentleman,  who  is  honored  by  all 
who  know  him,  tells  me  that  he  came  to  Boston 
from  the  country  forty  years  ago  and  applied  for 
work. 

"What  can  you  do?"  said  the  man  to  whom  he 
applied.  "  I  can  work,"  replied  the  boy,  "  and  am 
willing  to  learn."  He  went  to  work  in  the  hum- 
blest place,  he  was  contented  to  step  first  on  the 
lowest  rung  of  the  ladder.  In  seven  years  he  was 
admitted  as  equal  partner  in  the  concern;  later 
still  he  bought  out  his  old  employer  and  now, 
after  forty  years,  still  does  business  in  the  old 


88 


DAlTOBIt  SIGNALS. 


Store,  where  twoscore  years  ago  he  went  to  work 
as  errand  boy. 

I  mention  these  cases  for  the  encouragement  of 
every  struggling,  disheartened  young  man  who 
reads  this  book.  It  is  no  ephemeral  success  which 
these  men  have  achieved.  It  is  no  Grant  and  Ward 
prosperity,  where  one  goes  up  like  a  rocket  and 
comes  down  like  a  stick.  Much  that  goes  by  the 
name  of  success  is  not  worthy  of  the  name.  Suc- 
cess is  not  money  getting.  The  rich  man  may  be 
a  pitiful  failure.  The  poor  man  may  be  a  grand 
success.  It  is  possible  to  buy  gold  too  dear  and 
political  honor  too  dear.  True  success  is  the 
attainment  of  a  worthy  ideal  without  the  least 
sacrifice  of  honor  or  manliness. 

Thai  is  what  these  men  to  whose  lives  I  have 
referred  have  gained  and  I  think  I  can  tell  you  in 
a  single  sentence  the  secret  of  their  success. 
They  sedulously  shunned  not  only  King  Alcohol 
but  all  his  henchmen. 

I  have  space  to  mention  but  three  of  these 
henchmen  but  from  looking  at  these  three  you 
can  know  the  whole  tribe,  for  they  aU  have  a 


M^.^^::^,.-^.^,. 


11 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


80 


family  resemblance.  These  three  shall  be  Bad 
Companions,  A  Weak  Will,  and  Idleness.  I  men- 
tion these  three  out  of  the  host  of  myrmidons 
whom  Alcohol  has  at  his  beck  and  call  because 
they  are  the  three  upon  whom  my  correspondents 
most  insist. 

I  venture  to  say  that  not  one  boy  in  five  hun- 
dred ever  went  into  a  rum  shop  eUone  for  the  first 
time.  He  went  first  because  he  was  asked  to  go ; 
because  some  companion  took  him  by  the  arm 
and  said  "  Let  us  see  what  is  going  on  in  there." 
Oh  I  if  he  could  only  know  that  that  bad  com- 
panion came  to  him  directly  from  the  devil,  if  he 
could  see  the  grinning  face  of  ApoUyon  leering 
at  him  over  that  companion's  shoulder,  how  he 
would  start  back  in  fright  and  dread  I 

I  know  of  young  men  who  are  going  to  the  bad 
as  fast  as  time  can  carry  them,  and  I  know  the 
cause  of  their  downward  course, — it  is  some  evil 
companion,  whom  they  have  not  moral  courage  to 
break  away  from.  They  walk  with  hJm  to  school 
or  business,  they  sit  with  him  in  church,  they 
turn  to  him  for  his  sneer  or  smile  when  the  most 
solemn  truths  are  being  urged  upon  them.    The 


ItMH  in 


V.I 


9|i 

It: 


40 


DANOEB  SIGNALS. 


tears  of  mother,  the  warnings  of  father,  the  coun- 
sel of  pastor,  are  of  no  avail  because  of  this  evil 
companion. 

In  sorrow  of  heart  I  say  that  there  are  some 
young  people  of  my  acquaintance  whom  I  have 
given  up  as  far  as  any  direct  appeal  to  their  con- 
science goes,  because  I  see  that  they  are  not  will- 
ing  to  break  with  their  bad  companions.  It  is 
utterly  useless.  I  can  only  pray  and  watch  for 
the  time  when  that  evil  genius  is  not  by  their 
side.  No  more  surely  does  the  watchful  bird  of 
the  air  swoon  down  from  its  perch  to  capture  the 
seed  which  the  husbandman  has  just  dropped, 
than  does  this  bird  of  evil  omicn  swoop-  upon  the 
good  seed  of  the  word  which  is  dropped  in  their 
heart.  The  warnings  which  the  business  men  of 
Boston  send  you  on  this  point  are  many  and 
specific. 

One  of  them  whose  name  would  carry  with  it 
much  weight,  did  I  feel  at  liberty  to  give  it,  says: 
"  When  I  look  back  upon  my  own  narrow  escape 
from  evils  of  which  I  can  hardly  conceive  the  end, 
it  brings  tears  to  my  eyes.  I  think  the  turning- 
point  was  my  going  to  California  at  the  age  of 


m^ 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


41 


the  coun- 
this  evil 

are  some 
)m  I  have 
their  con- 
not  will- 
ns.    It  is 
watch  for 
t  by  their 
ul  bird  of 
ipture  the 
dropped, 
-  upon  the 
)d  in  their 
sss  men  of 
many  and 

pry  with  it 
'e  it,  says: 
ow  escape 
^e  the  endi 
10  turning- 
the  age  of 


nineteen  and  by  that  means  breaking  off  the  ac- 
quaintances I  had  formed.  I  was  away  so  long 
that  when  I  returned  they  had  all  scattered.  I 
did  not  think  at  the  time  I  was  very  bad,  but 
still  from  my  present  standpoint  it  looks  bad 
enough.  I  can  look  around  me  here  in  Boston 
and  see  many  a  man  who  is  a  perfect  failure 
today,  who  had  the  brightest  prospects  when 
young,  and  bad  company  was  the  first  step  down- 
ward." 

Young  man,  if  you  feel  that  you  have  not  the 
moral  stamina  to  jreak  with  the  companions  who 
are  dragging  you  down,  if  you  feel  that  there  is 
no  other  way  to  throw  off  this  social  chain,  every 
link  of  which  is  a  fetter  for  your  soul,  then  I  beg 
you  to  leave  everything  and  flee  for  your  life, 
though  it  be  to  California,  or  Australia,  or  Alaska, 
or  Patagonia,  though  you  leave  father  and  mother 
and  home  and  church  behind  you,  flee  as  you 
would  flee  from  tl'e  pestilence. 

Better  bury  yourself  forever  in  some  foreign 
land  and  never  see  your  native  city  again,  if  the 
influences  at  home  are  too  strong  for  you  to  resist, 
than  bring  heartache  and  sorrow  to  every  one  who 


42 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


f- 


loves  you  by  going  down  to  death  and  ruin,  side 
by  side  with  some  rake  whom  you  have  allowed 
to  link  arms  with  you,  and  with  whom  you  feel 
you  must  keep  step.      This  is  a  heroic  remedy 
that  I  am  proposing  I  know,  and  I  hope  that  it  is 
not  necessary  in  most  cases,  but  I  am  convinced 
that  some  wills  are  so  weakened,  that  some  well- 
meaning  young  men  are  so  under  the  dominion  of 
evil  companions  that  their  only  safety  lies  in  a 
new  set  of  surroundings  and  companions.    Christ 
our  Lord  proposed  heroic  measures  when  milder 
ones  should  fail.    "  If  thy  hand  or  thy  foot  offend 
thee,   [or  cause  thee  to  stumble,]  cut  them  off 
and  cast  them  from  thee ;  it  is  better  for  thee  to 
enter  into  life  halt  or  maimed,  rather  than  having 
two  hands  or  two  feet  to  be  cast  into  everlasting 
fire.    And  if  thine  eye  offend  thee,  pluck  it  out 
and  cast  it  from  thee,  it  is  better  for  thee  to  enter 
into  life  with  one  eye  rather  than  having  two  eyes 
to  be  cast  into  hell  fire."    If  your  companion, 
though  he  be  your  best  friend,  cause  you  to  stum- 
ble, if  he  leads  you  into  bad  ways,  if  he  makes 
you  careless  and  thoughtless  and  indifferent  of 
the  good  and  complacent  of  the  evil,  cast  him  off, 


I 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


43 


'uin,  side 
allowed 
you  feel 
I  remedy 
that  it  is 
onvinced 
me  well- 
ninioa  of 
lies  in  a 
Christ 
in  milder 
tot  offend 
them  off 
3r  thee  to 
in  having 
krerlasting 
ick  it  out 
e  to  enter 
;  two  eyes 
)mpanion, 
1  to  stum- 
he  makes 
fferent  of 
}t  him  off. 


flee  from  him  as  Joseph  fled  out  of  the  way  of 
temptation,  though  you  leave  the  very  garment 
by  which  he  seeks  to  hold  you  in  the  clutches  of 
the  tempter. 

But  there  is  another  side  to  this  question  of 
companionship.  If  there  are  evil  companions 
whose  influence  is  tremendous  in  dragging  down, 
there  are  also  good  companions  wliose  influence  is 
no  less  powerful  in  building  up.  Place  yourself 
among  them.  "Get  in"  with  this  "set."  They 
are  not  exclusive.  Their  circle  will  widen.  If 
you  have  the  same  aims  and  motives  they  will 
gladly  receive  you. 

Let  me  tell  you  of  a  compact  made  by  four 
Boston  young  men  nearly  forty  years  ago,  when 
temperance  pledges  were  by  no  means  as  common 
as  today,  for  it  shows  that  the  power  of  good  com- 
panionship and  of  union  in  a  good  cause,  is  no 
less  potent  than  union  in  evil.  This  pledge,  drawn 
up  by  these  four  young  men,  reads  as  follows: 
"Believing  that  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquor, 
as  a  beverage,  is  both  needless,  hurtful,  and  injuria 
ous  to  the  human  system,  that  it  tends  to  demoral- 
ize the  social,  civil,  and  religious  interests  of  all; 


mM 


44 


DANOEn  SIGNALS. 


believing  that  the  use  of  profane  language  is  a 
low  and  vulgar  habit,  betraying  ignorance,  and 
that  no  one  who  continues  its  use  will  respect 
himself  or  bo   respected  by   others;  and  believ- 
ing that  the  use  of  tobacco,  whether  chewed  or 
smoked,  is  injurious  and  hurtful ;    We  do  hereby 
declare  our  fixed  and  unalterable  determination 
to  abstain   forever  from   their   use   and  to  rest 
strictly  on  the  principles  of  total  abstinence,  and 
that  we  will,  to  the  best  of  our  endeavors,  try  to 
have  these  principles  adopted  by  all,  and  that  we 
will  live  firmly,  so  that  all  may  know  that  these 
principles  tend  to  happiness,  peace,  and  comfort, 
making    good    citizens,    faithful,    honest   men." 
The  pledge  then  goes  on  to  denounce  slavery  and 
war,  particularly  the   Mexican  war   which  was 
then  in  progress.    It  adopts  the  Bible  as  the  rule 
of  conduct  for  the  signers,  and  thus  this  manly 
paper  ended  :     "  And,  finally,  believing  that  God 
created    man  for  happiness  here  and   hereafter 
and  made  woman  to  be  his  companion,  and  haa 
declared  that  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow  shall  man 
earn  his  daily  bread,  therefore  we  have  settled 
down  on  this  firm  resolution:    Honest  industry 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


45 


and  virtuous  marriage.  To  tlie  full  and  faithful 
performance  of  all  which,  we  pledge  our  most 
sacred  honor." 

As  three  of  these  noble  young  men  have  gone 
over  to  the  majority  and  the  other  lives  in  another 
city,  I  think  I  need  not  hesitate  to  tell  you  that 
the  pledge  ended  thus :  "  Given  under  our  hands 
and  seals,  this  the  16th  day  of  January  A.  D.  1848. 
Lewis  Smith,  Benjamin  K.  Ames,  Thomas  C. 
SiMONDs,  Eliphalet  Packaed." 

There  we  see  the  power  and  possibility  of  a 
union  and  companionship  that  builds  up  character 
and  insures  a  noble  life. 

But  th'-Te  henchmen  of  King  Alcohol  do  not  all 
direct  their  attacks  from  the  outside.  They  have 
a  faculty  of  assaulting  the  citadel  of  Mansoul 
from  within,  and  one  of  the  retainers  who  often 
does  his  bidding  is  the  very  porter  of  the  citadel, 
the  doorkeeper  of  the  castle.  He  is  called 
Weak  Will.  When  Satan  corrupts  even  the 
guards  within  the  city,  little  hope  is  there  indeed 
of  resistance  to  the  siege  which  King  Alcohol  lays 
to  the  character.'"  This  recreant,  traitorous  door- 
keeper  plays  into  the  hands  of  the  bad  companions 


r 


46 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


of  whom  I  have  just  spoken,  and  opens  the  gates 
of  the  soul.  If  it  were  not  for  this  traitor  within, 
the  evil  influences  from  without  could  do  little 
harm.  How  many  wretched  homes  would  be 
made  happy  if  only  this  doorkeeper.  Weak 
Will,  could  be  removed,  and  a  stalwart,  uncon- 
querable, resolute  determination  could  be  put  in 
his  place. 

One  gentleman  tells  me  of  a  young  man  who 
came  to  him  the  other  day  confessing  that  for 
four  years  he  had  averaged  a  quart  of  whiskey  a 
day.  He  had  been  compelled  to  sell  (  *.  what 
little  business  he  had  left  and  has  g  'wa}-, 
leaving  wife  and  three  children  without  support, 
when  he  could  have  a  fine  business.  He  says, 
"Ae  cannot  get  along  without  hia  whiakey."  Ah, 
poor  Weak  Will,  so  often  has  it  played  the  traitor, 
that  King  Alcohol  with  all  his  train  of  evil  spirits 
has  come  and  taken  full  possession. 

Here  is  what  another  says,  who  is  honored  in 
many  circles  of  Boston : 

"  Where  is  the  young  man  when  he  deliberately 
entertains  the  thought  that  he  has  a  right  to 
indulge  in  sin?   Has  he  not  already  prostituted 


THE  BKBMIBS  OF  YOUTH. 


47 


his  soul  to  evil?  Has  not  the  clean-cut  line 
between  good  and  evil  become  to  him  so  befogged 
and  indistinct  that  he  is  sure  to  hesitate  in  the 
hour  of  temptation  ? 

"  There  is  a  spot  where  only  a  positive  '  no '  is 
safety.  If  there  be  inability  to  say  'no'  to  evil,  the 
poor,  weakened,  undecided  soul  is  open  to  the 
attacks  of  the  Wicked  One  on  every  side. 

"  Tell  the  young  man  that  the  '  I  '11  take  the 
risk,'  *  I  don't  care,'  '  I  'm  not  afraid  to  mingle 
in  companionship  with  the  wicked,'  is  going  over 
the  picket  line  into  the  ene  y's  quarters.  Tell 
him  the  consequence  will  bo  a  divided,  careless, 
reckless,  impoverished  soul,  wasted  in  frivolity, 
dwarfed  in  ignorance,  made  miserable  by  skepti- 
cism, blackened  by  infidelity,  abandoned  to 
trample  upon  God 's  law  and  the  Sabbath ;  and, 
soon,  loving  evil  and  hating  good,  his  will 
become  a  sin-sold  soul." 

The  third,  and  last  henchman  of  King  Alcohol 
which  I  shall  mention,  is  Idleness,  and  concerning 
the  evil  which  he  has  wrought,  I  have  a  mass  of 
testimony,  all  of  which  I  cannot  begin  to  give 
you.    A  very  prominent  railroad  man,  the  presL- 


I  i 


DANQEB  SIGNALS. 


dent  of  one  of  our  largest  roads,  writes  me :  "  If 
I  were  to  addi-ess  young  men,  I  should  especially 
urge  upon  them  the  need  of  forming  industrious 
habits ;  there  was  never  a  truer  saying  than  that 
'  Satan  finds  some  mischief  still  for  idle  hands  to 
do.'  One  great  difficulty,"  he  continues,  "which 
stands  in  the  way  of  the  success  of  many  men, 
as  it  seems  to  me,  is  the  desire  to  get  along 
without  work,  to  obtain  easy  positions  wliere  they 
can  dress  well  and  have  a  plenty  of  leisure.  All 
through  my  life  I  have  seen  man  after  man 
wrecked  on  these  shoals.  Having  no  fixed  habits 
of  industry  they  drift  off  and  fall  into  the  pits 
always  open  for  them." 

Another  man  wlio  has  done  as  much  as  any 
other  for  the  boys  of  Boston,  writes :  "  If  every 
young  man  could  only  see  the  importance  of  some 
definite  aim  in  life  worth  living  for !  The  multi- 
tudes are  drifting.  There  la  nothing  so  hard  to 
steer  as  a  ship  in  a  calm." 

Says  another:  "In  my  judgment  the  wise 
thing  to  be  done  is  to  keep  our  boys  from 
idleness ;  have  them  employed  in  some  business 
even  a  it  is  not  profitable  in  a  pecuniary  way." 


i:  \ 


THE  ENEMIES  OP  YOUTH. 


48 


s  me :  "  If 
.  especially 
industrious 

than  that 
e  hands  to 
les,  "which 
many  men, 

get  along 
where  they 
isure.  All 
after  man 
ixed  habits 
to  the  pits 

ich  as  any 
"If  every 
ICO  of  some 
The  inulti- 
so  hard  to 

t  the  wise 
boys  from 
le  business 
:y  way." 


Another  writes :  "  In  my  view  of  the  matter, 
the  seeds  of  evil  are  oftenest  sown  early  in  life. 
In  the  absence  of  employment,  boys  are  brought 
into  temptation  by  staying  away  from  their 
homes,  during  times  of  idleness  or  relaxation,  and 
perhaps  frequently  in  the  evening  with  doubtful 
companions,  after  the  duties  of  the  day  are  over. 
And  it  is  during  these  evening  hours  that  the 
tempter  takes  his  time  to  scatter  the  seeds  that  so 
frequently  bring  forth  the  fruit  of  death." 

Here  I  record  the  wise  words  of  still  another  of 
your  friends:   "If  forty-eight  years  of  life  teach 
me  anything  they  most  certainly  reveal  to  me 
that  there  is  not  an  evil  known  to  our  j-oung 
people  so  dangerous  and  seductive  as  idleness. 
In  my  opinion  it  is  the  parent  vice  of  all  others. 
We  often  speak  of  intemperance  as  though  it  was 
the  cause  of  all,  or  nearly  all,  vice  and  misery. 
Although  a  terrible  curse,  I  think  upon  careful 
investigation,  we  shall  find  thai  nine  cases  in 
every  ten  can  be  traced  to  idleness.    I  happen  to 
know  just  how  several  of  our  most  honored  men 
of  Boston  were  brought  up,  and  taught  to  work; 
their  fathers  being  farmers  in  my  native  town. 
8 


m 


60 


DANOEB  SIGNALS. 


One  has  twice  occupied  the  Mayor's  chair,  and 
declined  the  third  nomination,  to  the  regret  of 
our  first  business  men,  and  he  could  have  been 
our  Governor  had  he  not  declined  the  nomination. 
I  will  also  mention  the  president  of  one  of  our 
neighboring  colleges,  whom  I  very  often  met  on 
my  four-mile  walk  to  my  work,  with  his  farm 
tools  in  his  hand,  all  ready  for  as  hard  a  day's 
work  as  any.  Take  the  ciise  of  that  wonderful 
man,  Hon.  Oakeii  Ames.  When  a  mere  boy  ho 
loaded  his  two-horse  team  with  shovels  and  was 
on  his  way  at  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  to  sell 
in  Boston,  twenty  miles  distant.  Huge  snow- 
drifts could  not  stop  this  lad  then,  and  later  on 
when  our  Government  wished  to  build  the  Union 
Pacific  Railroad,  and  was  unabl-j  to  find  a  man  or 
corporation  to  undertake  it,  this  same  plucky  lad 
took  the  contract,  and  started  with  his  load  of 
shovels  and  built  the  road  to  the  astonishment  of 
the  whole  world.  Did  these  men  waste  their 
time  and  opportunities  in  rum  shops,  low  theaters, 
gambling  dens,  low  ball-rooms,  or  in  reading 
trashy  novels  ?  " 

But  there  is  a  kind  of  busyness  which  is  not 


THE  ENEMIES  OP  YOUTH. 


61 


business,  a  kind  of  occupation  which  is  very  near 
akin  to  idleness.  Activity  is  not  necessarily 
work;  the  hurrying,  bustling,  stirring,  impatient 
man  may  be  the  veriest  idler. 

Really  to  escape  this  henchman.  Idleness,  one 
must  have  a  high  purpose,  a  noble  endeavor,  a 
useful  end  in  view.  One  niaj'^  do  many  little 
things  and  petty  things  and  do  them  all  scrupu- 
lously and  carefully,  but  one  who  really  succeeds 
can  have  no  petty  aims.  Mr.  Cross  says  in  the 
biography  of  his  wife,  George  Eliot,  that  she  had 
a  wonderful  "  genius  for  taking  pains."  She  did 
ten  thousand  little  things  well,  but  every  one  of 
them  tended  toward  a  great  result.  One  of  my 
correspondents  has  sent  me  the  following  clipping, 
which  appeared  first,  J  think,  in  the  Wide  Awake. 
"Two  men  stood  at  the  same  table  in  a  large 
factory  in  Philadelphia,  working  at  the  same 
trade.  Having  an  hour  for  their  nooning  every 
day,  each  undertook  to  use  it  in  accomplishing  a 
definite  purpose ;  each  persevered  for  about  the 
same  number  of  months,  and  each  won  success  at 
last.  One  of  these  two  mechanics  used  his  daily 
leisure  hour  in  working  out  an  invention.     When 


k:^ 


62 


DANOEB  SIGNALS. 


it  was  complete  he  changed  his  workman's  apron 
for  a  broad-cloth  suit,  and  moved  out  of  a  tene- 
ment house  into  a  brown  stone  mansion.  The 
other  man— -what  did  he  do  ?  Well,  he  spent  an 
hour  each  day,  during  most  of  a  year,  in  the  very 
difficult  undertaking  of  teaching  a  little  dog  to 
stand  on  his  hind  feet  and  dance  a  jig,  while  he 
played  the  tune.  At  last  accounts  he  was  work- 
ing ten  hours  a  day  at  the  same  trade  and  at  his 
old  wages,  and  finding  fault  with  the  fate  that 
made  his  fellow  workman  rich  while  leaving  him 
poor.  Leisure  minutas  may  bring  golden  grain 
to  mind  as  well  as  purse,  if  one  harvests  wheat 
instead  of  chaff." 

I  do  not  intend  by  any  means  to  imply  that  I 
have  told  you  all  the  henchmen  of  King  Alcohol. 
The  old  enemy  has  ten  thousand  servants  to  do 
his  bidding ;  in  fact  almost  any  good  thing  can 
be  perverted  until  it  leads  one  downward  and 
not  upwur  1.  One  of  my  correspondents  well 
illustrates  this  truth  when  he  says :  "  Accom- 
plishments and  recreations,  harmless  in  them- 
selves, may  under  some  circumstances  lead  to 
ruin.     I  remember  that  at  school  we  had  an 


11*1 


THE  ENI»nES  OF  YOUTH. 


68 


exercise  in  reading  entitled  '  the  dangers  of  being 
a  good  singer '  which  greatly  impressed  me,  and 
which  told  the  story  of  a  youth  whose  society  was 
BO  much  sought  in  places  of  conviviality,  because 
of  his  ability  to  sing  a  good  song,  that  in  the  end, 
he  became  a  frequenter  of  the  lowest  resorts,  and 
obtained  a  miserable  livelihood  by  singing  nightly 
in  a  tavern." 

It  is  a  delightful  thing  to  be  a  good  singer,  a 
God  given  talent  to  be  prized  and  cultivated ;  it 
is  worth  much  to  be  a  good  conversationalist,  to 
have  a  genial  disposition,  a  cordial  manner,  but 
we  must  allow  God  to  have  control  of  them  all, 
OS  ministering  spirits  to  lead  us  upward,  and  not 
let  the  Devil  use  them,  as  his  henchmen,  to  drag 
us  down. 

And  now  I  would  close  this  chapter  also  with  a 
word  of  encouragement  to  those  who  are  tempted 
and  tried.  Let  me  say  to  every  one  of  you, 
young  friends,  that  your  case  is  not  hopeless. 
However  sorely  you  may  feel  the  terrible  pressure 
of  bad  companionship,  however  weak  your  wills 
may  be,  however  the  hard  times  have  enforced 
idleness  upon  you,  until  you  feel  unable  to  do  any 


JU^ 


— y— MB^itM'SE  ,1,1"; 


54 


DAKOEB  SIGNALS. 


useful  work  in  the  world,  though  you  may  have 
been  dragged  by  these  henchmen  into  the  very 
clutches  of  King  Alcohol,  your  case  is  not  hope- 
less, Christ  has  more  servants  than  King  Alcohol. 
Young  men  who  have  been  walking  arm  in  arm 
with  these  henchmen  for  years  have  broken  loose. 
Men  who  have  been  picked  out  of  the  gutter  have 
risen  to  the  pinnacle  of  an  honorable  life.  There  is 
only  one  way;  all  mere  moral  reform,  without 
religion,  is  uncertain.  It  is  of  little  use  to  try  to 
break  with  the  henchmen  of  Alcohol  unless  you 
take  up  with  the  servants  of  Christ ;  but  if  you 
will  do  this  there  is  eternal  hope  for  you,  for  one 
who  was  never  known  to  lie  has  said,  "  My  grace 
is  sufficient  for  thee." 


lave 
rerj 
i>pe- 
liol. 
arm 
ose. 
lave 
re  is 
10  ut 
T  to 

you 
you 
one 
race 


CHAPTER  IV. 

DIRT  IN  INK. 
Wht    Mant    Bcsinbss    Men  Place  Bad  Litekatubb 

FiBST  AHOXO    THE    ENEMIES    OF  TOCTH.       THB  THEE 

WITH  TOE  Rotten  Hbabt.  The  Insidioubnbss  of 
THIS  Evil.  The  Gtpsy  Dot's  Venoeance.  Indict- 
ment OF  THE  Bad  Book.  It  Givss  a  Stbainbd, 
Unnatitbal  ""iew  of  Life.  It  Globifibs  Evil. 
It  Leaves  no  Room  fob  the  GIood.  The  Jellt- 
Bao  Readeb.  The  Cobbcft  Litbbatube  of 
Fbanoe.  Tbeb-Fboq  Minds.  What  the  Law  can 
Do. 

I  HAVE  entitled  this  chapter  *'  Dirt  in  Ink,"  for 
I  know  of  no  more  expressive  or  appropriate 
words  to  express  the  exact  idea  I  have  iu  mind 
than  these,  which  not  long  ago  stood  at  the  head 
of  an  editorial  in  one  of  our  Boston  dailies.  I  am 
not  writing  of  literature,  though  it  sometimes  is 
falsely  dignified  by  that  name.  I  am  not  writing 
of  anything  that  is  worthy  the  name  of  book  or 
magazine  or  newspaper,  though  these  respectable 
words  must  often  be  thus  disgraced,  but  I  am 

66 


iii«"'^^^3>' 


66 


DANGER  SIOKALS. 


writing  of  what  is  only  fit  to  be  called  dirt,  dirt 
in  printer's  ink,  dirt  spread  over  white  paper,  dirt 
done  up  in  packets,  the  shape  of  a  book  or  pam- 
phlet, for  this  and  nothing  less  and  nothing  better 
is  all  the  vile  reading  of  which  I  would  warn 
my  young  friends.     It  ia  somewhat  remarkable, 
though  I  cannot  say  that  I  am  surprised  at  it,  to 
find  many  of  my  correspondents  among  the  busi- 
ness men  placing  bad  literature  in  the  very  fore- 
front of  the  evils  which  assail  the  youth  of  today. 
I  asked  some  of  them  to  number  with  the  figures 
1,  2,  8,  4,  etc.,  the  evils  which  in  their  opinion 
were  the  most  flagrant  and  seductive,  and  very 
many  of  them  wrote  at  the  head,  before  intemper- 
ance, before  licentiousness,  before  gambling,  the 
words  "  Bad  Literature."    Surely  this  is  not  to  -be 
wondered  at  when  we  remember  that  the  brothel 
in  the  book  is  usually  seen  before  the  real  brothel, 
that    the   bar-room    of   the  flash  story-paper  is 
known  before  the  bar-room  of  wood  and  glass  and 
decanters  and  beer-fountains.      If  we  look   for 
priority  of  influence  we  must  usually  seek  for  it 
in  the  gambling  den  of  the  printed  page,  and  not 
in  the  gambling  den  where  the  rattle  of  the  dice 


t 

THE  BNEMIES  OF  YOUTH.                     57 

lirt 

is  heard.    The  poison  is  first  poured  into  the 

lirt 

stream  out  of  the  bad  book. 

nn- 

The  in»idiou»ne»a  of  this  evil  is  one  of  its  most 

ter 

dangerous   features.      If  our  boys    come    home 

wn 

,                       with  the  taint  of  liquor  in  their  breath  we  know 

)le, 

it ;  if  we  hear  their  latch  key  stealthily  opening 

to 

the  door  at  one  in  the  morning,  we  are  pretty 

isi- 

sure  that  they  have  not  been  at  a  prayer-meeting 

re- 

all  the  evening,  and  we  can  fight  and  pray  against 

*y- 

the  evils  that  are  threatening  them ;  but  we  do  not 

res 

know  when  their  eyes  first  fall  upon  the  salacious 

on 

pictures  in  the  shop-window  on   their   way   to 

'ry 

school;     we  do  not  know    when    some  ragged 

er- 

urchin  thrusts  a  bad  paper  into  their  hands  aa 

he 

they  go  to  the  grocer's,  we  do  not  know  how  they 

-be 

treasure  it  up  and  feast  upon  it  in  secret,  untu 

lel  ' 

their  very  life-blood  begins  to  run  in  a  tainted  ' 

el. 

stream.    We  do  not  know  when  these  things  are 

is 

done,  but  we  know  that  they  are  done,  and  this 

ad 

1                       fact  is  enough  to  cause  us,  whether  we  are  parents 

or 

or  young  people,  to  give  very  earnest  heed  to 

it 

these  things. 

ot 

Says  one  very  prominent  merchant  of  our  city: 

ce 

*'  Bad  Literature  is  undoubtedly  as  rank  a  poison 

• 

8* 

68 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


to  the  young  mind,  as  rum  is  to  the  body,  and 
surely  paves  the  way  to  many  other  terrible  evils." 
Another  no  less  widely  known,  who  puts  this 
evil  first,  says :  "  Impure  literature  enfeebles  the 
mind  and  heart  as  deadly  malaria  does  the  body." 
Still  another  of  my  correspondents  speaks  of  a 
kindred  evil  which  often  flows  from  bad  reading 
and  ought  to  be  coupled  with  it.  He  says: 
"  While  I  have  marked  bad  literature  as  No.  1  on 
the  list  you  give,  I  think  that  impure  conversa- 
tion is  another  great  evil,  if  not  equally  perni- 
cious in  its  effects.  The  tendency  of  the  low  jest 
and  filthy  story  cannot  be  other  than  to  contami- 
nate the  mind."  The  filthy  story  which  goes 
from  mouth  to  mouth  usually  starts  from  the 
filthy  book.  Still  another  writes  me  as  follows : 
"My  topic  is  vile  literature.  If  there  is  one 
method  used  by  the  satanic  powers  more  effective 
than  another  in  the  preparation  of  victims  for 
sorrow  and  disgrace  in  this  life  and  the  world  to 
come  it  is  the  casting  into  the  mellow  soil  of  youth- 
ful minds  of  either  sex  the  damnable  imaginings 
of  lust  which  are  the  seeds  of  an  inevitable  harvest 
embracing  every  sin  in  that  fearful  list  in  the 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOTTTH. 


09 


fifth  chapter  of  Galatians.  Now  and  then  one 
who  has  been  contaminated  may,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  be  snatched  as  a  brand  from  the  burning, 
but  even  then  an  impression  made  upon  the 
youthful  mind  by  an  obscene  picture  or  a  seduc- 
tive story  of  lust  and  crime  is  never  effaced.  The 
wretched  scar  in  the  soul  remains;  it  may  be 
overgi'own  but  never  eradicated.  I  know  a  man 
today  who  would  gladly  sacrifice  a  great  deal  of 
what  the  world  most  prizes,  if  he  could  blot  from 
his  memory  the  impressions  made  in  youth  by  one 
obscene  book. 

"  Before  the  same  gale  which  a  few  years  ago 
brought  down  the  noble  old  elm  upon  the  com- 
mon, a  beautiful  and  stately  maple  succumbed, 
upon  the  lawn  of  a  gentleman  in  Brookline. 
Upon  examination  a  decayed  spot  was  found  at 
the  point  where  the  tree  was  broken  off.  The 
gentleman  recollected,  after  some  time,  that  many 
years  before,  when  a  boy,  he  had  hacked  a  place 
in  the  trunk  with  an  axe,  when  angered  at  some 
command  of  his  father.  After  many  years  the 
bark  grew  over  the  place  and  tire  wound,  to  all 
appearances,  had  completely  healed  and  the  tree 


iil 


DANOER  SIGNALS. 


was  apparently  as  sound  as  any  of  its  companions 
upon  the  lawn.  But  the  winds  blew  and  the 
storm  beat  upon  it  and  it  fell  —  because  it  had  a 
rotten  spot  at  the  heart,  though  hidden  from  the 
eyes  of  men.  Ah  I  how  little  we  know  the  cause 
of  the  sudden  and  unexpected  fall  of  men  and 
women,  who  are  apparently  fair  and  sound 
outside.  If  we  could  but  examine  into  the  inner 
being  of  such  we  should,  I  think,  many  times  find 
just  such  concealed  wound,  made  doubtless  away 
back  in  youthful  dnys  by  some  vile  story  or  print, 
which  could  never  be  completely  healed,  and  that 
WHS  the  weak  spot  which  caused  so  lamentable  a 
Ml. 

*'  You  cannot  swin^  too  vigorously  this  danger 
signal  before  your  boys  and  girls,"  c  >ntiuues  this 
/gentleman.  "If  they  wouia  be  safe  and  happy, 
and  enjo)  .yn^  thoughts  in  after  years  as  well, 
implore  theni  to  fnve  n  wide  berth  to  the  cheap, 
f  ;  'hy  literature  of  the  day." 

But  that  I  may  not  be  thought  to  speak 
tmtirely  at  random  in  this  matter  or  to  rely 
wholly  upon  the  representations  of  others,  let  me 
tell  you  that  I  have  made  this  a  matter  of  careful 


k 


it' 

i!ir 


nil 


J^m— 


^ 


THE  EKEMies  OP  YOUTH. 


ei 


lions 
tlie 
ad  a 
the 
juse 
and 
und 
iner 
find 
way 
rlnt, 
that 
le  a 

iger 
this 

?py. 

rell, 
eap, 

eak 

rely 

me 

eful 


study  for  a  number  of  ye.irs  past,  and  I  am  con- 
vinced that  the  strongest  words  of  my  corre- 
spondents are  none  too  strong.  I  have  seen  our 
shop  windows  filled  and  our  shop  counters  covered 
with  this  wretched  stuff.  I  have  seen  our  bovs 
and  girls  eagerly  gloating  over  the  pictures  dis- 
played in  these  windows,  on  their  way  to  school 
and  home  again.  I  have  seen  these  papers  and 
the  advertisements  of  them  thrust  into  their'  very 
faces  on  the  street  corner.  Let  me  give  you  an 
outline  of  one  of  these  books.  This  one,  which 
is  the  only  one  I  have  read,  is  called  "  The  Gypsy 
Boy's  Vengeance."  It  is  the  only  one  I  have 
read  through,  but,  from  a  hasty  glance  at  many  of 
them,  I  am  convinced  that  it  does  not  go  beyond 
the  average  in  blood-curdling  villainy. 

In  the  first  chapter  of  the  "  Gypsy  Boy's  Ven- 
geance" a  robber.  Cartouche  by  name,  runs  off 
with  the  heroine  of  the  story,  a  beautiful  girl  of 
high  family,  and  the  robber  strikes  a  subordinate 
actor  in  the  story  to  the  floor  with  his  clenched 
fist.  In  the  second  chapter  a  wild  pursuit  of  the 
robber,  who  escapes  in  a  hack,  results  in  the 
shooting  of  the  hackman  and  the  arrest  of  the 


tmmm 


""r^^mammmmmmm 


W 


62 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


robber.  The  third  chapter  is  taken  up  with  the 
wails  of  a  noble  lady  and  with  her  efforts  to 
induce  a  young  gypsy  boy  to  kill  and  thus  put 
out  of  the  way  a  witness  against  her  virtue.  In 
the  fourth  chapter  the  robber,  by  the  aid  of  his 
wife,  escapes  from  prison,  and,  in  his  exit,  by  way 
of  diversion,  kills  a  man  who  is  in  the  passage. 
In  the  fifth  a  hand  to  hand  fight  betwepn  the  two 
principal  characters  is  rehearsed.  In  the  sixth  the 
robber  kiLj  the  warden  of  the  prison  and  three 
guards.  In  the  eighth  the  robber  discards  liis 
wife  who  had  saved  his  life  many  times,  and  takes 
up  with  a  new  attachment,  in  the  meantime 
nearly  killing  the  first. 

In  the  tenth" seven  or  eight  policcrucn  are  con- 
veniently disposed  of,  and  as  many  more  robbers 
have  their  throats  cut.  Evidently,  as  the  plot 
thickens,  the  dramatis  personcB  are  becoming  too 
numerous  and  so  the  author  takes  the  shortest 
way  to  get  rid  of  them  and  freely  uses  the  knife 
and  pistol  upon  bis  heroes.  In  this  same  chapter, 
besides  murdering  sixteen  men  and  throwing  one 
old  woman  into  the  river,  we  are  treated  to  two 
fierce  fights,  in  both  of  which  the  robber  is  vic- 


^IM 


MWHHMMKffiSSC^ 


THE  BNEMIBE  OF   YOUTH. 


63 


■ 


torious.  In  the  eleventh  chapter  we  enter  a 
robber's  cave,  rich  with  treasure,  and  are  con- 
ducted by  a  secret  passage  into  the  heart  of  Paris. 
In  the  twelfth  the  old  woman  who  was  thiown 
into  the  water  again  comes  upon  the  stage,  and  is 
this  time  killed  out  and  (tut,  a  haughty  Spaniard 
is  also  run  through  with  a  sword,  the  heroine  is 
shot  through  the  heart,  and  the  robber  has  a 
bullet  neatly  lodged  in  his  back.  In  the  fifteenth 
and  last  chapter  the  robber  is  tortured  and  then 
killed  by  being  broken  on  the  wheel,  the  haughty 
Spaniard  is  killed  off  in  battle,  and,  there  being 
nobody  left  to  kill,  (with  ono  or  two  unimportant 
exceptions,)  the  story  naturally  comes  to  an  end. 
Thus,  in  this  short  storj',  there  are  two  cases  of 
adultery,  one  elopement,  nine  bloody  fights,  and 
twenty-eight  murders. 

This  is  a  sample,  and  a  fair  sample,  of  what 
our  boys  and  .girls  have  thrust  into  their  hands 
from  the  time  they  are  able  to  spell  out  their 
a,  b,  abs.  Such  a  tale  is  worse  than  the  raw-head 
and  bloody-bones  stories  at  which  we  so  often 
laugh,  and  of  which  I  shall  speak  in  another 


ri 


64 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


chapter.      Much  of  it  is  absolutely    filthy   and 
unreportable.     Let  us  not  say  that  it  is  advertis- 
ing this  stuff  to  call  attention  to  it  or  to  give  an 
outline  cf  one  of  these  stories.    It  is  impossible  to 
advertise  it  more  extensively  than  it  is  advertised 
at  present.      If   you   do  r.ot  know  of  it,  you, 
brethren  and  father,  you,  grave    and  reverend 
seigniors,  are  the  only  ones  who  do  not  know  of 
it.    If  you  are  ignorant,  your  boys  and  girls  are 
not.     They    have    the   advertisements  of  these 
papers  and  books  thrust  into  their  hands  as  they 
come  out  of  school,  they  find  them  on  the  door- 
steps of  your  houses  as  they  come  home  from  play, 
they  pick  up  the  flyers,  telling  them  about  these 
stories,  borne  about  everywhere  on  the  wings  of 
the  wind,  their  eyes  are  attracted  at  a  dozen  shop 
windows  by  pictures  which  have  a  horrible  fasci- 
nation and  which  often  border  on  the  indecent  if 
they  are  not  wholly  vile  and  corrupting.     With 
these  odds  against  them,  the  children  of  today  are 
beginning  the  battle  of  life.    The  Devil  is  attack- 
ing the  citadel  of  their  souls  in  its  weakest  part, 
and,  by  appealing  to  their  imagination  and  their 


i 

] 
\     ' 

i, 

1 

ii 

* 

THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


65 


, 


love  of  excitement  and  adventure,  he  is  seeking 
to  undermine  the  very  foundations  of  manhood 
and  womanhood. 

This  is  no  Iblind  and  hidden  malady,  whose 
secret  springs  of  poison  we  cannot  get  at.  It  is 
something  we  can  see  and  understand.  The  evil 
is  right  in  our  midst.  We  can  put  our  hands  upon 
it.  We  can  crush  it  out  if  we  will.  It  is  a  sub- 
ject which  concerns  every  community,  every 
church,  every  family  in  the  land.  It  is  a  theme 
which  no  one  of  us  can  afford  to  ignore,  for, 
while  we  shut  our  eyes,  the  Devil,  on  these  his 
newest  wings  of  printed  paper,  is  flying  into  the 
inmost  circles  of  our  homes.  No  one  of  us  can 
say,  "  I  am  safe,"  "  My  boys  are  beyond  such  in- 
fluences," "  My  girls  are  incorruptible,"  "  It  will 
not  hurt  my  children  if  they  do  read  such  stuff." 
We  make  a  great  mistake  when  we  reason  in  this 
way. 

Smut  always  crocks.  Pitch  always  sticks. 
When  soot  is  in  tl»'^  air  it  is  just  as  likely  to  fall 
on  your  head  as  anj  where  else,  and  the  smut  of 
these  dirty  periodicals  is  actually  in  the  air  today. 
Every  age  has  its  peculiar  dangers,  and  needs  its 


^H 


•i]! 


JiiStim 


66 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


peculiar,  trurapet-tonecl  warninga.  One  note  of 
alarm  wliich  we  need  to  sound  today,  in  this  latter 
part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  is  "  Beware  of  vile 
books."  Centuries  ago,  when  books  were  scarce 
and  print  was  sealed  except  to  a  very  few,  the 
exhortation  was,  or  should  have  been,  "  Read,  read, 
unlock  for  yourselves  the  treasures  of  the  world's 
lore."  Now  the  cry  of  pulpit  and  press  and 
parental  authority  should  be :  "  Beware  of  what 
you  tead,  shut  the  book,  burn  the  paper,  unless 
they  are  worth  reading."  Better  let  the  field  lie 
fallow  than  fill  it  with  thistles  and  brambles  and 
dog-wood  and  deadly  niglit-shade.  Better  let  the 
mind  be  empty  than  fill  it  with  seeds  which  will 
inevitably  produce  an  abundant  crop  pf  disease 
and  death.  Dr.  Johnson  used  to  say,  that  "  the 
most  miserable  man  was  he  who  could  not  read 
on  a  rainy  day."  We  must  change  that  motto  and 
say  :  "  The  most  miserable  man  is  he  who  reads 
only  vile  trash  on  a  rainy  day." 

"Don  Juan  literature,"  says  Cunningham 
Geikie,  "  is  as  pestiferous  as  an  open  ditch  in  hot 
weather.  No  genius  or  wit  can  excuse  or  neutral- 
ize its  wantonness.    Coarse  feeding  makes  coarse 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


07 


flesh.  Filthiness,  like  toad-stools,  springs  rank 
from  invisible  seeds,  and  the  whole  race  of  unclean 
books  is  no  better  than  molds  and  smuts  and  mil- 
dews." 

Let  me  warn  you  of  this  seductive  form  of  evil 
in  the  vigorous  words. of  Scripture:  "Avoid  it, 
pass  not  by  it,  turn  from  it  and  pass  away." 

To  be  very  specific. 

I  indict  this  whole  class  of  publications  not 
only  for  corrupting  the  imaginations  and  inflam- 
ing the  passions  of  the  young  but  I  indict  even 
the  very  best  of  them  for  giving  a  strained,  and 
unnatural  picture  of  life,  and.  thus  unfitting  our 
boys  and  girls  for  real  life.  How  can  our  boys  take 
up  the  humdrum  duties  of  school  on  Monday 
morning  when  they  have  spent  all  Sunday  riding 
over  the  plains  with  Texas  rangers,  and  robbing 
stage  coaches  with  Missouri  ruffians?  How  can 
they  confine  themselves  to  the  routine  of  the 
counter  or  the  farm  or  the  work-bench  when  their 
minds  are  dancing  among  the  wild  delights  of  a 
ha,rein  of  houris  ?  How  small  and  paltry  will  the 
honest  nine  shillings  appear  for  a  day's  wages 
when  the  mind  has  been  dazzled  by  the  priceless 


68 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


i  i'-i 

■    ,!l 


jewels  and  gold  of  the  robber's  cave  ?  These  vis- 
ions, in  manj,  many  cases,  cannot  but  work  the 
deadliest  ruin.  The  school-book  loses  its  inter- 
est, the  shop  or  farm  becomes  distasteful  and  only 
excites  disgust  and  longing  to  escapo,  and  honest 
wages  are  too  mean  to  strive  for ;  and  thus  an- 
other life  is  wrecked,  and  wrecked  on  the  rock  of 
these  wretched  periodicals. 

In  the  second  place  I  indict  these  publications 
for  glorifying  evil.  This,  too,  is  universally  true 
of  them.  The  effect  of  every  one  is  to  make  sin 
attractive.  To  be  sure  the  murderer  sometimes 
comes  to  grief,  and  the  robber  is  occasionally 
caught,  but  he  is,  after  alU  a  noble  fellow,  and  the 
rollicking  fun  and  excitement  of  his  life  more 
than  make  up  for  any  "temporary  unpleasant- 
ness "  he  may  have  with  the  authorities.  "  Every- 
tLing  that  is  naughty  is  nice  "  might  be  the  motto 
in  large  capitals  over  every  one  of  these  bad 
books.  In  this  way,  by  glorifying  evil,  these 
books  seek  to  undermine  and  destroy  all  that 
good  men  in  all  the  ages  have  built  up  with  toil 
and  pain.  The  Bible  is  given  us  to  teach,  among 
other  things,  that  evil  in  the  long  run  does  not 


n 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


69 


VI9- 

the 
ater- 
only 
nest 

an- 
skof 

ions 
true 
i  sin 
imes 
lally 
[the 
nore 
lant- 
ery- 

lOttO 

bad 
bese 
that 

toil 
long 

not 


pay,  —  these  books  teach  that  it  does  pay.  God,  in 
nature  and  Providence,  says  over  and  over  agaia; 
"Beware,  beware,  touch  not  the  unclean  thing. 
It  brings  disease,  poverty,  sickness,  loneliness, 
sorrow,  death.  The  soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall 
die."  These  books  say,  "  No  such  thing.  Wick- 
edness is  very  pleasant.  Fondle  it.  Take  it  to 
your  bosom.  It  will  never  hurt  you."  The  law 
had  made  it  its  business  in  every  civilized  country 
on  the  globe  to  emphasize  what  God  and  the 
Bible  say,  to  make  crime  dangerous  and  despi- 
cable and  unattractive  and  hideous,  by  fine  and 
prison  and  disgrace  and  the  gallows-tree,  and  yet, 
these  books  say  in  effect:  "The  Bible  is  anti- 
quated, and  God  knows  nothing  about  it,  and  the 
law  is  all  wrong ;  for  the  freest,  jolliest,  bravest 
life  in  the  world  is  that  of  the  outlaw  and  the 
scamp." 

In  the  third  place,  I  indict  these  publications 
for  being  not  only  wholly  evil  in  themselves  but 
for  taking  the  place  of  what  is  good.  There  is 
nothing  so  entirely  captivating  and  engrossing  to 
the  young  as  these  very  stories.  When  this  Devil, 
whose  name  is  Legion,  enters  their  hearts  he  leaves 


70 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


^i 


no  spot  for  a  good  angel  to  occupy.  Nay,  he 
drives  out  sooner  or  later,  every  good  influence 
and  takes  undisputed  possession  of  the  heart.  As 
the  serpent's  deadly  eye  attracts  the  young  bird  so 
these  books  attract  the  young  mind,  when  it  gets 
within  their  spell,  until  it  becomes  too  weak  to 
resist  their  allurements,  and  the  boy  or  girl  finds 
it  as  impossible  to  go  by  the  secret  shelf  or  closet 
or  druvver  where  the  longed-for  book  lies,  as  it  is 
for  the  drunkard  to  resist  his  cups  or  the  lauda- 
num eater  his  opium.  And  what  chance,  O  fellow 
Christians !  has  the  Spirit  of  God  to  influence 
such  an  over-wrought  and  preoccupied  mind  ? 

How  can  we  hope  that  such  a  young  person  will 
ever  feel  his  need  of  pardon  and  cleansing  from 
defilement  when  his  whole  pleasure  is  found  in 
scenes  of  defilement  ?  How  can  we  hope  that  our 
churches  will  be  recruited  or  any  of  those  c&uses 
which  make  for  righteousness  will  be  advanced 
when  the  minds  of  our  young  people  are  filled  so 
full  of  scenes  of  vice,  that  there  is  no  room  for 
calmer,  truer  thoughts  ?  For  this  reason,  if  for  no 
other,  every  good  man  and  true  ought  to  take  up 
arms  against  this  crying  sin  of  our  times. 


I 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


71 


On  these  three  charges  I  rest  my  indictment. 
Many  more  charges  might  be  preferred,  but  surely 
these  three  are  sufficient.  These  evil  books  unfit 
their  readers  for  all  real,  honest  life ;  they  glorify 
evil ;  they  exclude  all  that  is  good  ;  they  enervate 
the  mind,  weaken  the  will,  stunt  the  ambition,  dull 
tlie  conscience,  sear  moral  percei)tion,  not  for  a 
month  or  a  year  but  for  a  life-time.  The  com- 
plete victim  of  the  bad  book  never  recovers. 

Colei'idge  divides  all  readers  into  four  classes: 
"  The  hour-glass  readers,  whose  reading,  like  the 
sand,  runs  in  and  then  out,  leaving  nothing  behind ; 
the  sponge  readers,  who  imbibe  everything  only  to 
return  it  as  they  got  it,  or  dirtier ;  the  jelly-bag 
readers,  who  let  the  pure  pass  and  keep  only  the 
dregs  and  refuse;  and  the  fourth  class  who,  like 
the  slaves  in  Golconda  mines,  cast  aside  all  that  is 
worthless  and  keep  only  the  diamonds  and  gems." 
The  cl  iss  of  books  and  papers  of  which  I  am 
speaking  continually  make  jelly-bag  readers  who 
keep  only  the  dregs  and  refuse,  and  this  never 
gets  strained  out  of  their  lives  until  the  day  they 
die. 

In  a  sister  nation  across  the  water  literature  ib 


72 


DANOEB  SIGNALS. 


notoriously  corrupt.  This  trash  which  our  boys  are 
reading  cultivates  the  very  same  tastes  to  which 
Eugene  Sue  and  George  Sand  have  catered.  The 
most  serious  count  which  some  Frenchmen  bring 
against  the  Protestant  reformation  now  prevailing 
in  that  country  is  that  it  is  creating  a  demand  for 
a  Puritanic  literature,  and  is  supplying  that  de- 
mand, while  it  is  in  deadly  and  uncompromising 
opposition  to  loose  morals  and  loose  literature. 
Even  M.  Talne.  fair  and  just  as  he  usually  is,  can- 
not resist  a  fli.ig  at  the  purity  of  the  best  English 
fiction.  la  coi  lenting  upon  Dickens  he  sneer- 
ingly  say . .  "In  Nicholas  Niokleby  you  will  show 
us  two  good  young  men,  like  all  young  men,  mar- 
rying two  good  young  women,  like  all  young 
women.  In  Martin  Chuzzlewit  you  will  show  us 
two  more  good  young  men,  perfectly  resembling 
the  other  twu,  marrying  again  two  good  young 
women,  perfectly  resembling  the  other  two.  In 
Dombey  and  Son  there  will  be  only  one  good 
young  man  and  one  gooti  young  woman  ;  — other- 
wise no  difference.  The  reader  woulu  like  to 
say  to  these  characters,  '  Good  little  people,  con- 
tinue to  be  very  proper.' " 


THE  ENBMIBS  OP  YOUTH. 


TS 


This  is  the  ay  that  a  highly  cultivated  and 
otherwise  fair  minded  Frenchman  can  sneer  at  the 
purity  of  English  literature,  the  purity  which  is 
its  chief  glory.  Do  you  desire  to  exchange  our 
Dickens  for  a  George  Sand?  our  Thackeray  for 
a  Eugene  Sue?  our  Hawthorne  for  a  Zola? 
Toward  lowering  the  tone  of  public  morality,  to- 
ward pavini  tlie  way  for  making  just  such  books 
the  national  literature  of  our  land,  these  exciting, 
pernicious  novels  directly  tend. 

There  are  a  great  many  "  tree-frog  minds,"  as 
some  oiie  has  expressed  it,  minds  that  take  their 
color  from  that  on  which  they  feed.  Among  our 
boys  and  girls  there  are  ten  thousand  of  these  tree- 
frog  minds  whu  feed  on  worthless  fiction  and 
whose  whole  lives  will  be  colored  by  it.  "  What 
do  you  read  ? "  said  the  late  James  T.  Fields  to 
the  boy  fiend  Jesse  Pomeroy,  as  quoted  by  Mr. 
Kent  in  his  "  New  Commentary."  "  What  do  you 
read  ?  "  said  Mr.  Fields.  "  Mostly  one  kind,"  was 
the  reply,  "  mostly  dime  novels."  "  And  what  is 
the  best  book  you  have  read  ?  "  "  Well,' '  he  replied, 
»'  I  like  Buffalo  Bill  best.  It 's  full  of  murders  and 
pictures  about  murders."     "  And  how  do  you  feel 


■^ 


74 


DANOEB  SIGNALS. 


after  reading  it?"  " Oh,  I  feel  aa  if  I  wanted  to 
go  and  do  the  same."  But  the  grout  danger  of 
these  books  ia  not  that  a  iow  morbidly  ferocious 
boys  like  Jesse  Pomeroy,  or  a  few  maudlin,  feather- 
headed  girls  will  be  ruined  by  this  trashy  novel 
reading.  These  results  are  probable  enough  and 
deplorable  enough,  but  the  great  danger  is  that 
the  mass  of  our  bo3'8  and  girls  who  are  neither 
brutal,  nor  ferocious,  uor  feather-headed,  will  bo 
tainted  by  this  mass  of  printed  corruption.  Like 
the  exhalation  from  a  foul  but  unseen  sewer  it 
may  poison  the  very  air  our  children  breathe 
before  we  wake  up  to  the  fact  that  the  air  is 
poisoned. 

And  now  let  me  apeak  for  a  moment  of  the  rem- 
edies for  this  curse,  for  there  are  effective  remedies. 
I  will  speak  of  other  measures  at  another  time, 
but  I  believe  that  the  strong  arm  of  the  law 
should  be  invoked  to  save  our  children  from 
this  curse.  I  believe  that  the  law  can  be  en- 
forced against  those  who  peddle  this  stuff  upon 
the  streets  and  in  our  news  rooms,  until  every 
print  that  suggesta  an  impure  scene  to  a  prurient 
imagination  shall  be  torn  from  our  shop  windows. 


THB  ENBMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


76 


If  we  have  law  enough  to  compel  the  cleaning 
out  of  filthy  sewera  that  may  poison  the  physical 
health  of  the  community,  have  we  not  law  enough 
to  clean  out  these  ditchwater  books  and  papers 
which  will  surely  poison  the  murals  of  the  cotn- 
munity  ? 

If  there  is  power  enough  in  the  law  to  shut  up 
a  drunken  man  simply  because  he  is  noisy  and 
boisterous,  is  there  not  power  enough  to  shut  away 
from  the  sight  of  our  boys  and  girls  those  books 
and  pictures  which  will  do  them  more  harm  than 
a  regiment  of  drunkards  ? 

I  am  not  a  visionary  enthusiast  in  this  matter. 
I  do  not  know  that  public  sentiment  is  ripe 
enough  to  sustain  the  law  in  prohibiting  the  blood 
and  thunder  novel,  I  do  not  know  that  it  can  yet 
drive  "Buckskin  Burke,"  and  "Moccasin  Mat," 
and  "Shorty  Jr..  tht;  Son  of  his  Dad,"  into  de- 
served oblivion,  but  I  do  believe  that  it  can  rid 
our  country  of  al'  '  t  is  openly  vile  and  lewd. 
I  do  believe  that  77^;  Jolice  News  and  The  Po- 
lice Gazette  a,><]  pam,^  <  that  ilk  can  be  prohib- 
ited and  tb.it  i^cenj        s  need  no  longer  be  of- 


T6 


DAMGEB  SIGNALS. 


fended  and  young  imaginations  polluted  by  the 
pictures  which  they  contain. 

I  believe  that  the  law  can  be  so  enforced  that  it 
shall  be  safe  to  publish  the  catalogues  of  girls' 
boarding  schools ;  and  it  is  not  safe  to  do  so  now, 
lest  the  harpies  who  vend  this  bad  literature 
will  use  them  for  evil  purposes. 

But  we  must  not  put  off  all  the  responsibility 
for  the  suppression  of  this  evil  upon  the  law 
makers.  We  have  something  to  do,  every  one  of 
us,  to  sustain  the  law,  and  to  make  a  public  senti- 
ment which  can  enforce  the  law.  Let  us  each 
bear  our  full  share  of  the  responsibility  and  do  our 
full  duty  toward  making  the  literature  of  our  land 
pure  and  ennobling.  Parents,  you  who  desire 
that  your  children  should  not  live,  even  in  imag- 
ination, with  cut-throats  and  robbers ;  young  men, 
you  who  would  not  have  your  future  wives  ac- 
quainted with  courtesans  and  harlots ;  young  wo- 
men, you  who  would  not  have  your  future  hus- 
bands imbued  with  the  cruelty  of  the  prize  ring 
and  the  bravado  of  the  gambling  hell;  philanthro- 
pists, you  who  would  see  the  wtrld  grow  better 


-t 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


77 


and  not  sink  back  into  filth  and  barbarism ;  Chris- 
tians, you  who  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  the 
childi-eu  for  whom  he  died ;  arouse  you  all,  and 
with  one  heart  and  voice  let  us  stem  this  tide  of 
evil  literature  before,  it  sweeps  clean  away  the 
foundations  of  morality  and  religion. 


T 


i 


CHAPTER  V. 

TEASH    IN    INK. 
Infaht  Indian  Extebminatoks.    Fubtheb  Wise  Wobds 

FBOM    THE     BUSINEBS     MEN.       JoVENILE     BuBOLABIES 

AND  Flash  Papebs.  One  Hcndbed  Thousand  Peo- 
ple OP  Boston  Keep  Compant  -vtith  Tbain  Wbeck- 
KBS  AND  Highwaymen.  The  Cause  of  this  Tbabh 
IN  Ink.  Cheap  Imitation  of  BuBDKrrE  and  Mabk 
Twain.  A  Waste  of  Time.  A  Sum  in  ABirnMETio. 
The  Scbappt  Mind  of  the  Mebb  Newspapeb  Read- 
EB.  The  Young  Highwaymen  hbab  Boston.  Thk 
Stoby  of  the  Judge's  Son. 

Some  time  ago  a  friend  sent  me  a  copy  of  the 
New  York  Puck,  and  directed  ray  attention  to  a 
cartoon  on  the  first  page.  For  the  benefit  of  those 
of  you  who  have  not  seen  thii  graphic  picture  let 
me  describe  it.  An  infant,  apparently  some  six 
or  eight  months  of  aw,  sits  in  a  cradle,  one  hand 
grasps  a  huge  bowie-knife,  the  other  a  bull-dog  re- 
volver, across  his  knees  lies  a  shot  gun,  while  into 
various  crevices  of  the  cradle  other  knives  and 
pistols  are  thrust.    In  the  infant's  mouth  is  placed 

78 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


79 


a  tube  through  which  he  draws  nourishment  from 
a  huge  bottle  labeled  "  Dime  Novels,"  "  Half  Dime 
Stories,"  "  Five  Cent  Papers,"  etc.    A  wild  and 
lurid  light  gleams  from  the  infant's  eyes,  his  tow 
hair  stands  on  end  with  excitement,  a  fierce  and 
implacable  look  settles  around  the  corners  of  his 
mouth.     The  exciting  causes  of  this  preternatural 
ferocity  lie  scattered  about  on  the  floor,  labeled, 
*' Buccaneers  of  the  Battery,"   "Ike  the  Indian 
Killer,"  "  Bloody  Ben,"  "  The  Pirates  of  the  Pas- 
saic," etc.    In  short  this  "Infant  Indian  Extermi- 
nator "  in  the  cradle  had  been  nourished  on  such 
food  as  made  his  hair  stand  on  end,  and  his  fin- 
gers naturally  clutch  the  bowie-knife  and  the  re- 
volver.    There  is  a  startling  truth  hidden  in  this 
grotesque    cartoon.      The   very   babies  in    their 
cradles  have  this  exciting,  pernicious  trash  rained 
upon  them.     As  they  draw  milk  from  the  nursing 
bottle,  they  suck  in  blood  and  thunder  from  the 
dime  novel.     Instead  of  the  '  Three  Bears,"  the 
child  of   today  reads  about  "  The  Five  Skulls." 
Instead  of  "  Dick  Whittington  and  his  Cat,"  he 
reads  about  "Dick  the  Destroyer."     Instead  of 
'♦Cinderella  and  her  Golden  Slipper,"  he  reads 


80 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


about  the  "Tlie  Girl  Trailer"  or  "Wild  Nell  on 
the  Scaffold."  The  spirit  of  that  cartoon  has  its 
counterpart  in  ten  thousand  households,  all  our 
country  over.  It  is  hardly  an  exaggeration  to 
make  the  victim  of  these  worthless  novels  a  tow- 
hep.ded  baby  in  his  cradle. 

This  subject  is  very  closely  allied  to  the  one  pre- 
sented in  the  last  chapter.  Dirt  and  trash  go  to- 
gether in  literature  as  well  as  in  th-i  scavenger's 
cart.  The  dirty  is  always  trashy;  the  trashy  is 
usually  dirty. 

In  the  last  chapter  were  quoted  the  opinions 
of  some  of  Boston's  prominent  men  of  business 
on  the  kindred  subject.  I  need  to  add  but  little 
to  this  testimony  to  show  you  what  their  advice 
would  be.  Let  me,  however,  quote  a  few  more 
valuable  testimonies.  Says  one :  "  I  think  low  lit- 
erature is  to  the  mind  what  scrofula  is  to  the 
blood.  It  soon  permeates  the  whole  mind,  and 
terminates  in  the  malignant  cancer  which  contains 
all  the  vices  man  is  addicted  to." 

Says  another :  "  Young  people,  given  to  the  habit 
of  reading  liglit  and  trashy  novels,  dilute  their 
minds,  destroy  the  power  of  concentrated  effort. 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOTJTH. 


81 


and  make  it  impossible  for  them  to  grasp  and  con- 
quer that  which  requires  hard  and  continuous 
study.  One  can  read  too  much  for  recreation  for 
a  time,  and  then  find  to  his  mortification  that  the 
ability  to  grasp  great  truths  has  departed  from 
him,  perhaps  forever." 

Still  another  friend  of  yours,  who  says  that  in 
the  business  in  which  he  has  been  engaged  for 
fifty  years  he  has  had  the  training  of  a  score  of 
young  men,  some  of  whom  have  been  very  suc- 
cessful in  life,  remarks,  that  he  is  sorry  to  see  in 
visiting  our  public  library  the  unread  appearance 
of  scientific  ami  historical  books,  and  that,  so  sel- 
dom are  they  called  for,  it  is  not  deemed  necessary 
to  provide  thtun  with  the  usual  paper  covers. 

Another  gentleman,  who  has  had  much  to  do  in 
furnishing  you  with  good  reading,  writi  s  :  '"My 
experience  leads  me  to  place  Bad  Literature  first 
among  the  causes  leading  to  the  decline  of  virtue 
in  youth.  This  poisons  the  mind  and  prepares 
the  way  for  dime  and  other  low  theatres,  intem- 
perance, gambling,  and  licentiousness." 

You  see  most  of  tliese  gentlemen  emphasize 
the  fact,  which  we  cannot  make  too  prominent, 

¥ 


82 


DANGEB  SIGKALS. 


that  bad  books  are  the  starting-point  for  other  avils. 
"  A  trashy  novel  looks  innocent,"  do  you  say  ?  "I 
can  read  it  without  being  any  the  worse."  Ah  1 
but  if  it  is  one  key  that  has  often  unlocked  the 
door  of  perdition  for  other  bright  boys  and  girls 
is  it  safe  to  fumble  with  it  in  the  lock,  because 
you  think  you  may  and  escape  where  bo  many 
have  entered  in  and  been  lost?  In  thii>  line 
another  of  your  friends  sends  you  the  following 
warning:  "The  prime  cause  of  ruin  would  be 
the  first  step  taken,  as  the  others  would  be  sure  to 
follow.  Boys  would  be  more  likely  to  start  with 
bad  literature  than  with  anything  else." 

Let  me  tell  you  how  I  came  to  have  my  atten- 
tion directed  to  this  subject.  Some  time  ago,  as  I 
was  walking  along  one  of  the  streets  in  the  city 
where  I  then  lived,  which  was  most  frequented  by 
boys  and  girls,  the  following  advertisement,  for 
substance,  struck  my  eye :  "  All  the  boys  should 
read  the  wonderful  story  of  the  James  brothers, 
the  desperate  outlaws  of  the  Western  plains, 
whose  strange  and  thrilling  adventures  of  success- 
ful robbery  and  murder  have  never  been  i»qualled. 
The  account  of  these  brave  and  daring  spirits, 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


88 


who  still  defy  capture,  wUl  interest  every  boy. 
For  sale  here.  Price  five  cents,"  The  next  morn- 
ing I  read  the  following  item  in  one  of  the  daily 
papers  of  that  city :  "  Seven  boys  arrested  yester- 
day for  burglary ;  four  stores  having  been  broken 
into  by  the  gang  at  different  times.  One  of  the 
ringleaders  who  had  been  in  all  four  of  the  rob- 
beries is  but  ten  years  old."  A  few  days  after 
that  appeared  this  item :  "  Boys  made  three  breaHu 
lait  night  stealing  goods  and  money  in  as  many 
dLTerent  stores." 

1  remember,  too,  the  horrible  story  which  Mr. 
Comstock  vouches  for,  of  the  bloodthirsty  band  of 
ten  year  old  boys  who,  excited  by  such  stories, 
bound  themsuives  with  an  oath  to  slay  their  own 
mothers,  and  were  only  discovered  because  the 
heart  of  one  of  the  little  fellows  failed  him  at  the 
last  moment,  and  he  thought  he  would  practice  on 
the  servant  girl ;  and  I  remember  that  these  in- 
stances are  but  specimens  of  a  hundred  items 
which  we  may  read  in  the  papers  every  year. 

But  to  bring  the  matter  very  near  home.  What 
are  our  boys  and  girls  reading  in  this  year  of 
grace  ?    Much  that  is  useful,  much  that  is  health- 


fin! 


84 


DAITOBB  SIGNALS. 


ful,  much  that  will  make  them  good  citizens  and 
honored  men  and  women,  no  doubt.  I  am  happy 
to  believe  that  large  numbers  read  only  such 
books.  But  step  into  any  of  our  news-stores  in 
any  of  our  large  cities,  and  a  single  glance  at 
those  counters,  filled  with  rubbish,  will  tell  us  that 
other  large  numbers  read  only  such  stuff  as  tends 
to  weaken  the  mind  and  unnerve  the  will  for  hon- 
est endeavor,  and  to  graduate  in  the  end  either 
worthless  loafers  or  state's  prison  convicts.  I,  for 
one,  was  totally  unaware,  until  my  attention  was 
directly  called  to  the  subject,  how,  of  late  years, 
this  crop  of  worthless  print  hab  increased.  Even 
a  casual  glance  would  amaze  many  who  have  not 
studied  the  subject.  Why  1  Fathers  and  Mothers, 
Beadles  Dime  Novels  which,  when  we  were  boys 
and  girls,  were  the  sjmonyras  for  all  this  class  of 
literature,  seem  to  havo  gone  to  seed  in  these  latter 
days  and  a  most  abundant  and  pernicious  crop  has 
sprung  up  iu  their  stead.  The  evil  genius  of  our 
childhood  has  taken  to  himself  more  than  seven 
and  more  than  seventy-seven  spirits  worse  than 
himself,  and  all  are  clamoring  for  admittance  to 
the  minds  of  our  children.    In  a  single  periodical 


^ 


' 


!  IJI' 

iHi' 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


86 


store  I  have  counted  twenty-one  publications  of 
this  class  for  our  young  people  alone ;  twenty-one 
different  flash  papers  and  magazines  bearing  the 
imprint  of  different  firms,  but  all  bearing  the 
trade-mark  of  the  Devil. 

It  is  impossible  to  do  more  than  roughly  esti- 
mate the  number  of  those  who  read  these  publica- 
tions, but,  from  a  careful  study  of  the  facts  and 
inquiry  into  the  number  of  these  periodicals  sold, 
I  am  convinced  that  at  a  very  low  estimate  one- 
third  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  any  large  city  are 
habitual  readers  of  this  trash.  This  is  not  random 
guess-work.  It  is  founded  on  careful  study  and 
estimate.  I  am  convinced  that  if  I  should  say 
that  one-half  of  our  people  read  this  stuff  I  should 
be  easilv  within  bounds.  But  for  the  sake  of 
being  very  moderate  and  conservative  I  will  say 
one-third.  Then  more  than  one  hundred  thou- 
sand men  and  women  and  children  in  this  city  of 
Cotton  Mather  and  Lyman  Beecher  and  Charles 
Sumner  and  Wendell  Phillips  are  todry  spend- 
ing their  time  in  the  company  of  thieves  and  mur- 
derers and  highwaymen  and  adulterers,  gloating 
over  their  adventures,  revelling  in  their  perilous 


86 


DAKGEB  SIGNALS. 


escapes  and  glorying  in  their  dastardly  crimes. 
And  the  saddest  part  of  all  this  is  that  many  of 
these  readers  are  young  people.  At  least  one-half 
this  army  belong  to  this  class.  At  least  sixty 
thousand  young  people  in  this  one  city  are  study- 
ing, not  the  story  of  Moses  and  Joshua  and  Paul 
and  Jesus  Christ  which  our  Sunday-schools  teach, 
not  the  wonderful  dealings  of  God  with  his  people, 
not  the  deeds  of  real  men  in  real  life,  not  the 
facts  of  history  which  elevate  the  mind,  not  the 
truths  of  science-  which  quicken  the  intellect,  but 
they  are  studying  "  The  Gypsy  Boy's  Vengeance  " 
or  "  The  Dead  Witness  "  or  "  Evil  Eye,  the  King 
of  the  Cattle  Thieves."  There  are  more  boys  and 
girls  in  every  city  and  town  of  our  land  locked 
up  every  Sunday,  (for  they  get  more  time  as  a 
general  thing  to  read  this  trash  on  Sunday  than 
any  other  day),  with  these  exciting  and  pernicious 
stories  of  unreal  and  improbable  and  utterly 
detestable  life,  than  assemble  in  all  our  Sunday- 
schools.  There  are  more  of  our  youth  who  are 
being  excited  and  unstrung  and  filled  with  morbid 
fancies  by  these  books  than  are  being  strengthened 
and  fitted  for  life  by  the  sweet  influences  of  the 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


m 


Sabbath  day.  There  are  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  our  young  people  who  are  less  fitted  to  take  up 
life's  secular  duties  on  Monday  on  account  of  what 
they  read  on  Sunday,  —  the  day  of  rest,  in  which 
God  meant  that  they  should  be  strengthened  and 
made  more  ready  for  life's  battle. 

The  cause  of  this  dire  evil  is  not  far  to  seek. 
It  has  been  growing  gradually  for  many  years, 
and  the  appetite  has  been  fostered  by  what  it  has 
fed  on.  These  flash  papers  whose  name  today  is 
legion  may  be  traced  back  to  one  or  two  more 
decent  progenitors  which  have  had  great  influence 
in  shaping  the  tastes  of  our  youth.  They  have 
begun  by  sipping  their  small  beer  from  these  very 
respectable  papers  and  have  endied  by  taking  their 
whiskey  straight  from  the  rankest  and  vilest  peri- 
odicals of  the  day.  In  my  opinion  the  sinners, 
above  all  others  in  this  direction,  are  certain  re- 
spectable story  papers,  and  for  the  paradoxical  rea- 
son that  they  have  been  so  good  as  they  have  been. 
Have  not  well-known  men  of  letters  and  science, 
and  eminent  divines,  even,  written  for  these  papers? 
do  they  not  contain  many  really  valuable  articles, 
the  record  of  many  scientific  discoveries  ?  are  not 


\ 


"««re»8SgSSiS« 


iS*(aasssiK'i^!»*fe«'/ii**«fe-'' 


ii;::«iSs;*a*.«.»ss3«.  -~»« 


r 


;  ''^St^tf  -*  ^-W^r^-JSJi*        •'mwnn^.^i 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


141 

156 

m 


IIM 


13.2 


Rii^ 


I.I 


I.  I^Q 


iiiii 

1.8 


1.25 


1.4    111.6 


Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


%o    Mr, 


,/^% 
<      V.% 


f/j 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


s        4j 


..5"  ^.? 


/l4 


^o 


«--^ 


L- 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
CollectioiH  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  d«  microreproductions  historiquas 


^J 


'  j!(j^m*S»«Kii;ai<(.a, 


C=f^!■.ri•^*>'J•'    ■•■•••'•"iJi.' 


88 


DANGER   SIGNALS. 


many  of  their  contributions  of  a  high  order  of 
literary  merit?  Yes,  I  admit  all  this,  and  for 
this  very  reason  they  have  done  so  much  harm. 
Their  very  excellencies  have  glossed  over  their 
defects  and  concealed  from  the  eyes  of  parents 
and  teachers  the  fj'.ct  that  their  tendency  was  in 
the  direction  of  trashy  sensationalism.  In  tea 
thousand  cases  they  have  created  an  appetite  they 
could  not  satisfy,  a  morbid  craving  which  their 
brethren  of  lower  degree  and  coarser,  more  un- 
blushing sensuousness,  have  satisfied.  It  is  a  long 
step  from  these  story  papers  to  the  Police  O-azette, 
but  it  is  a  step  which  is  very  often  taken. 

In  public  readings  I  have  been  surprised,  often- 
times, to  notice  how  even  a  respectable  and  intelli- 
gent audience  will  eagerly  listen  to  the  silliest 
nonsense.  Tlie  real  fan  found  in  the  Burlington 
Hawkeye  and  the  Detroit  Free  Press  has  a  thousand 
cheap  imitations,  and  the  extent  to  which  our  cur- 
rent literature  is  flooded  with  these  cheap  imita- 
tions of  Burdette  and  Mark  Twain  and  Charles 
Dudley  Warner  would  be  alarming  were  the  lucu- 
brations not  so  puerile.  The  way  in  which  an  audi- 
ence will  applaud  and  encore  some  graphic  descrip- 


»« 


THE  ENEMIES  OP  VOUTn. 


89 


tion  of  how  Mr.  Jones  chased  his  liat  around  a  .11  ".d 
puddle,  or  the  side-splitting  manner  in  which  Mr. 
Brown  sat  down  on  a  pin,  or  the  coo-funny-for- 
anything  way  in  which  one  of  our  Teutonic  or 
Hibernian  neighbors  got  drunk  and  sung  a  maud- 
lin song  in  broken  dialect,  hardly  speaks  well  for 
the  intelligence  of  the  audience.  In  our  enter- 
tainments why  cannot  we  have  real  wit  to  laugh 
over  instead  of  this  sick  and  silly  semblance  of 
wit  ?  Against  this  kind  of  tru  1  which  is  some- 
times forced  upon  us  in  otherwise  unobjectionable 
entertainments,  we  are  defenceless,  perhaps,  but  I 
am  chiefly  concerned  with  the  trash  which  you  vol- 
untarily read,  and  there  is  another  class  of  books  a 
grade  higher  than  the  "  Gypsy  Boy's  Vengeance," 
which,  while  it  is  more  likely  to  be  read  by  the 
self-respecting  young  person,  is  almost  equally 
pernicious.  These  books  are  found  in  all  our  li- 
braries, public  and  circulating,  and  I  understand 
from  those  in  authority  that  they  constitute  the 
great  bulk  of  the  books  that  are  taken  out.  If  I 
should  look  at  that  volume  covered  with  brown 
paper,  my  young  friend,  which  you  are  carrying 
home  from  the  public  library,  should  I  not  find 


■\,. 


90 


DANGER  SIGNAL*?. 


that  it  was  a  book  by  Mrs,  Southwortli  or  Ouida 
or  the  Duchess  or  one  of  those  dozen  other  authors 
whom  I  am  afraid  you  know  better  than  I  do? 
"  Such  delicious  love  stories,"  you  say.     "  Such 
thrilling  situations."    Ah  yes,  but  if  they  received 
their  just  deserts  I  think  they  must  be  consigned 
to  the  scavenger's  cart  with  the  rest  of  our  trash. 
There  is  nothing  absolutely  vicious  about  many  of 
them,  but  others  are  really  bad  and  are  read  by 
respectable  people  only  because  their  eyes  are  not 
open  to  their  real  tendency. 

The  New   York  Evening  Post,  quoting  from  a 
pamphlet  which  recently  appeared  criticising  the 
books  in  the  Boston  Public  library,  says :     " '  Vul- 
gar'is  the  mildest  epithet  applied  to   this  class 
of  literature;    'maudlin   sentiment,'    'nauseous,' 
♦fleshly  taint,'  'unwholesome,' ' unoleanness,'  'snig- 
gering suggestions,'  are  the  flowers  of  criticism 
which  may  be  gathered  on  every  page."     I  do  not 
know  how  far  this  criticism  is  true  of  the  books 
in  one  of  the  best  public  libraries  in  our  land,  as 
the  Boston  public  library  undoubtedly  is,  but  I 
'     am  inclined  to  think  there  is  a  great  deal  of  truth 
in  it,  and  I  utter  it  in  order  to  put  you  on  your 


•  1 1 


MKHiWiWiK 


THE  ENEMIES  OF   YOUTH. 


It. 


guard  against  the  trasli  and  chaff  even  in  that  col- 
lection where  you  think  there  ia  nothing  but 
choice  wheat. 

In  the   last   chapter  I   brought  some  charges 
which  seemed  to  me  most  serious  and  weighty 
against  the  viler  class  of  periodicals ;  allow  me  to 
prefer  charges  which  seem  to  me  no  less  weighty 
against  the  trashy  literature  of  which  I  am  speak- 
ing in  this  chapter.     A  very  serious  charge  which 
may  be  brought  against  this  trash  is  that,  to  say 
the  best  of  it,  reading  it  involves  a  sheer  waste  of 
time.     The  shortness  of  human  life  should  pre- 
vent any  reasonable  young  person  from  touching  it. 
Do  you  remember  what  Dr.  Johnson  had  engraved 
on  the  face  of  his  watch  ?     "  Ihe  night  cometh." 
Let  us  remember  that  when  we  take  up  a  book. 
The  nigh'>  cometh.     The  daylight  is  too  short  to 
be  wasted  upon  that  which  is  not  worth  reading. 
The  multiplicity  of  books  repeats  this  same  advice. 
Go  with  me  into  the  British  Museum  in  London, 
and  there  a  well-nigh  innuraerabld  array  of  books, 
five  hundred  thousand  of  them,  look  down  upon 
us  from  their  resting  places  on  the  shelves.     Let 
us  do  a  little  sum  in  arithmetic.    Five  hundred 


J 


92 


DANGKTl  SIGNALS. 


hi 


thousand  books  before  us,  little  and  big,  wortliy 
and  worthless,  and  there  are  three  hundred  and 
sixty-five  days  in  the  year.    Can  you  read  one  of 
them  through  every  day  of  the  year,  Sundays  and 
all  ?    If  80  you  can  get  through  the  library  in  one 
thousand  three  hundred  and  seventy  years,  or  a 
few  days  less.     Even  Methuselah,  you  see,  would 
have  needed  an  extension  of  time  of  nearly  four 
hundred  years  to  accomplish  this  task.     But  you 
cannot  read  one  book  a  day.     Those  great  folios, 
those  huge  black-letter  volumes,  make  any  such 
idea  ridiculous.     No,  if  you  read  one  a  week  you 
will  do  well,  and  pretty  steadily  you  will  have  to 
work  to  do  this.     Well  then,  in  nine  thousand  four 
hundred  and  ninety  years  you  will  have  finished 
'  the  last  book  in  that  collection.     That  is,  if  you 
read  until  the  inhabited  world  is  once  and  a  half 
as  old  again  as  it  is  at  present,  until  Adam  has 
been  dead  fifteen  thousand  years  instead  of  six 
thousand,  you  will  have  finished  the  collection,— 
provided  no  new  books  are   added.      But   new 
books  will  be  added  at  the  rate  of  at  least  three 
thousand  a  year  at  a  very  low  estimate,  and  if 
even  this  rate  of  increase  keeps  up  during  the 


THE  ENEMIES  OP  YOXJTH. 


93 


nine  thousand  odd  years  j'OU  are  at  work  on  the 
original  library,  you  will  at  the  end  of  that  time 
be  twenty-eight  million  five  hundred  thousand 
books  :n  arrears,  or  enough  to  occupy  you  some 
five  hundred  thousand  years  more.  I  will  not 
appall  you  by  carrying  our  sum  in  arithmetic  any 
farthor.  It  has  accomplished  its  purpose,  if  it  has 
shown  us  that  in  these  days,  when  it  is  so  pre- 
eminently true  that  of  making  many  books  there 
is  no  end,  we  must  make  a  strict  and  rigid 
choice  in  that  which  we  read. 

When  you  have  the  whole  world  of  books  to 
choose  from,  will  you  take  the  very  poorest  and 
clieapest?  When  you  may  live  with  ^'hakespeare 
and  Milton  and  Macaulay  and  Scott  will  you 
choose  Buckskin  Burke  and  Moccasin  Mat  and 
Evil  Eye  the  King  of  the  Cattle  Thieves  for  com- 
panions ?  When  you  wish  to  laugh  will  you  choose 
the  sloppy  wit  of  some  third  rate  or  thirteenth 
rate  imitator,  when  you  might  have  the  genuine 
hum  or  of  Tom  Hood  or  Charles  Lamb  or  Leigh 
Hunt  or  Charles  Dickens  ?  Will  you  choose  to 
spend  an  evening  with  a  drunken  cut-throat  when 
for  the  same  price  you  might  have  the  company  oi 


u 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


ill 


s    i 


the  greatest  men  who  ever  wrote  or  sung  ?    "  Stu- 
pidity or  commonplace,"   says  one,  "is   tolerable 
only  when  no  better  can  be  had ;  like  bread  of  moss 
or  sawdust  that  needs  a  famine  to  get  it  down, 
except  with  simpletons  who  will  e^t   anything. 
"To  read  in  these  days  is  like  standing  m  an  or- 
chard laden  with  fruit ;  it  is  not  a  matter  of  choice 
but  of  falling  too  and  eating  the  best.     The  worm- 
eaten,'  the  wind-blasted  and  the  rottea  will  of 
course  be  passed  by,  by  a^  sensible  man  who  real- 
izes the  value  of  his  time."  •  '_  - 

Again  this  trash  in  ink  not  only  wastes  the  time 
but  it  renders  the  mind  of  him  who  indulges  in  it 
scrappy  and  unable  to  grasp  solid  truth,     ihis 
charge  applies  to  much  of   the   unobjectionable 
reading  of  the  day,  with  what  double  force  then 
does  it  apply  to  the  worse  than  worthless  stories  of 
which  I  have  been  speaking.     He  who  attempts 
to  read  everything  will  know  nothing. 

In  that  thought  lies  the  bane  of  the  multiplicity 
of  newspapers  and  magazines  of  these  latter  dajs. 
And  let  me  here  file  a  caveat  against  too  much 
newspaper  reading.  We  can  resist  the  temptation 
of  reading  many  books,  for  books  are  oftentimes 


THE  BNEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


m 


"Stu- 
lerable 
)f  moss 

down, 
thing." 
I  an  or- 
'  choice 
a  worm- 
will  of 
'ho  real- 

the  time 
gea  in  it 
1.  This 
stiouable 
rce  then 
stories  of 
attempts 

iltiplicity 
Iter  daj  s. 
boo  much 
imptation 
ftentimes 


expensive  luxuries,  but  to  the  ubiquitous  newspa- 
per there  is  no  such  let  or  hindrance.  It  touches 
upon  every  subject  and  exhausts  none.  The 
name  of  the  newspaper  readers  of  our  day  is  legion. 
I  mean  the  exclusive  newspaper  readers,  who 
hardly  know  how  a  bound  volume  feels  in  their 
hands.  Such  people  read  a  little  of  everything 
and  very  little  of  anything.  Their  minds  become 
as  scrappy  as  their  reading,  until  at  last  they  can 
fix  their  attention  upon  nothing  which  is  not 
dressed  in  displayed  lines,  or  which  is  longer  than 
a  cable  dispatch.  Some  one  has  compared  the 
mind  of  a  man  who  reads  in  this  way,  to  a 
boy's  pocket.  First  the  boy  pulls  out  a  marble, 
and  then  a  bit  of  string,  and  then  a  toothless 
comb,  and  then  a  peanut,  and  then  a  shingle- 
nail,  and  tlien  a  jackstone,  and  then  a  rusty  screw, 
and  then  a  piece  of  an  apple,  and  then  a  bit  of 
candy,  until  the  bottom  is  reached.  The  pocket 
is  full  to  be  sure,  but  it  is  full  of  scrappy  trash. 
So  is  the  mind  of  him  who  contents  himself  with 
the  lightest  kind  of  reading.  He  has  a  fact  here 
and  a  fact  there,  something  curious  about  alliga- 
tors in  this  corner  and  a  receipt  for  maiiing  apple 


"TT" 


M 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


pie  in  that ;  a  vague  impression  that  Bismark  is 
ruling  Germany  with  a  high  hand,  and  one  of 
Spoopoiulykc's  quarrels  with  his  wife  in  the  same 
part  of  his  cranium.  Ho  knows  that  there  has 
been  trouble  between  England  and  Russia,  though 
he  hardly  knows  what  it  is  all  about,  and  he  also 
has  a  vague  impression  that  Lydia  E.  Pinkhain 
cures  all  diseases.  Such  is  the  typical  newspaper 
reader.  As  for  me,  give  me  the  trash  the  bov 
carries  in  his  pocket  rather  than  the  trash  such  a 
one  carries  in  liis  head.  "Marshall  thy  notions 
into  a  handsome  method,"  quaintly  says  old 
Thomas  Fuller.  "One  will  carry  twice  more 
weight,  trussed  and  packed,  than  when  it  lies 
untoward,  flapping,  and  hanging  about  the 
shoulders."  '  ' 

But  there  are  even  more  serious  counts  than 
waste  of  time  and  dissipation  of  moral  and  intel- 
lectual energy  which  I  have  to  bring  against  this 
worthless  reading.  Its  direct  tendency  is,  like  the 
vile  reading  before  alluded  to,  toward  a  worthless, 
vicious  life.  This  tendency  is  too  palpable  to  need 
extended  illustration.  I  have  hinted  at  it  already 
and  we  can  hardly  take  up  a  public  print  without 


THE  ENEMIES  OP  YOUTH. 


97 


having  our  previous  knowledge  of  the  evils  of 
this  class  oT  literature  extended  and  confirmed. 
Let  me  mention  one  or  two  facts  which  have  re- 
cently come  to  my  knowledge.  In  a  country 
town  about  thirty  miles  from  Boston  it  was  found 
recently  that  many  of  the  boys,  incited  by  these 
stories,  had  formed  themselves  into  gangs,  after 
the  manner  of  their  favorite  desperados.  They 
would  hold  secret  meetings  in  old  barns  or,  pref- 
erably, in  some  cave,  if  they  could  find  one,  as 
being  raore  romantic.  They  had  their  signs  and 
passwords  and  flash  names  fdr  robbery  and  murder 
and  plunder,  and  burglar's  tools,  just  as  they  had 
read  in  their  favorite  story  papers.  And,  had  they 
not  been  accidentally  discovered  and  broken  up, 
actual  robbery  and  murder  would  undoubtedly 
have  brought  disgrace  and  sorrow  to  a  score  of 
families  in  that  pleasant  village.  I  have  heard 
the  master  of  one  of  our  largest  schools  in  Boston 
say  that  he  has  discovered  and  broken  up  similar 
plots  among  his  own  boys,  and  that  one  of  these 
plots  contemplated  violence  upon  his  own  life, 
though  personally  he  believed  that  the  boys  w  juld 
all  love  him  as  he  loved  them,  were  they  not  ex- 
6 


'"-^flii«MB!B»B^I^Bii»»iaii)S^BW^^  iiif^^^ATi^^r  ' 


im.Mi.  "■.^H'lt'i 


■  W.  DANOEB  8IGKAL6. 

cited  by  the  mock  heroics  of  these  bloodthirsty 
books. 

How  these  novels  corrupt  and  ruin  a  life  of 
bright  promise  is  vividly  illustrated  in  a  true  tale 
which  appeared  some  time  ago  in  one  of  our  relig- 
ious papers,  but  which  is  worth  reproducing  because 
it  presents  a  living  example  of  the  degradation  and 
infamy  to  which  this  miserable  fiction  leads.  It 
does  not  land  all  its  victims  in  the  same  abyss, 
perhaps,  but  it  faces  them  all  and  starts  them  all 
in  the  same  direction.  The  story  is  briefly  this  : 
A  lad/  in  one  of  our  southern  cities  had  her  atten- 
tion arrested  one  day  by  a  ragged  and  half  drunken 
boy  of  about  seventeen,  who  was  declaiming  for 
the  amusement  of  a  crowd  of  drunken  loafers, 
from  the  English  and  Latin  classics,  urged  on  to 
this  exhibition  of  his  powers  by  the  promise  of 
"  two  big  drinks." 

An  undefinable  air  of  refinement,  in  spite  of 
his  profane  and  drunken  conduct,  attracted  the 
ladj'^s  attention,  and  his  pure  pronunciation  and 
admirable  declamation  caused  her  to  stop  and  lis- 
ten. While  she  was  listening  a  dispute  arose,  a 
fight  ensued,  and  the  boy  was  arrested  and  taken 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH.  f^ 

to  jail,  where  it  was  discovered  that  he  had  re- 
ceived internal  and  fatal  injuries  in  the  melee. 
The  lady  interested  herself  in  hira,  found  that  he 
was  the  son  of  a  rich  judge  in  Mississippi,  that 
he  had  run  away  from  home  a  year  ago,  and  now 
he  waa  dying,  a  drunken  vagi\bond  in  jail.  We 
will  let  hira  tell  the  causes  which  brought  hira 
there  in  his  own  words. 

"  Were  your  parents  unkind  to  you  that  you 
left  thera  ? "  said  his  benefactress.  "  Unkind," 
he  repeated  with  a  sob.  "Oh,  I  wish  I  could 
remember  a  single  harsh  or  unkind  word  from 
them  I  That  would  be  a  little  excuse,  you  know. 
No,  they  were  only  too  indulgent.  I  was  a  little 
wild  then,  and  I  've  heard  father  say,  after  I  'd 
sowed  my  wild  oats  I  'd  come  out  all  right."  "  I 
can't  understand  why  you  left  good  parents  and 
home,"  said  the  lady.  "  Wait  a  minute,  I  'm  coming 
to  that.  I  'm  almost  ashamed  f^  tell  it,  it  sounds 
so  silly.  You  see  I  had  been  i  ng  a  great  many 
i^tories  of  adventure.  I  bought  every  new  volume 
as  it  was  issued.  My  parents  did  not  disapprove 
of  these  books  and  did  not  question  rae  in  regard 
to  them.    They  did  not  suspect  how  tired  I  was 


iB^j«>iX!i^ 


w^ 


T 


100 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


growing  of  my  dull  life,  and  how  I  longed  to  imi- 
tate some  of  my  plucky  young  heroes.  I  thought, 
as  soon  as  I  was  free,  adventure  would  pile  in 
upon  me."  "I  interrupted  him,"  says  the  lady, 
"  How  is  it  possible  that  you,  whose  education  had 
been  so  carefully  carried  on,  who  can  even  appre- 
ciate the  beauties  of  classical  literature,  could  be 
influenced  by  such  trash?"  "I  don't  know,"  he 
answered,  "but  I  was.  Perhaps  I  really  didn't 
what  you  call  appreciate  better  things,  but  just 
learned  them  by  rote  because  I  liked  the  sound. 
They  did  n't  seen,  to  belong  to  my  real  life,  but 
these  stories  did.  They  were  boys  like  myself  who 
did  these  wonderful  things  and  were  so  reckless 
and  brave,  and  they  lived  in  a  world  like  ours." 

Thus  this  boy  died;  but  seventeen  years  of  age, 
carefully  reared,  lovingly  nurtured,  but  he  died 
an  outcast,  a  drunkard,  a  tramp  in  jail,  and  his 
last  words  to  this  lady  who  had  been  his  only  friend 
were :  "  Warn,  warn  all  young  people  whom  you 
know  to  let  these  foolish  books  alone.  They  are 
very  silly,  but  they  do  harm  to  many  and  they  've 
ruined  me.  They  take  you  one  step  on  the  bad 
road  and  the  rest  comes  easy."  * 

•  Fom  The  Congregationaliat. 


THE  EKEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


IM 


And  now  the  old  question  returns :  What  are 
you  going  to  do  about  it?  Young  people,  what 
are  3^0M  going  to  do  about  it?  Will  you  let  this 
Octopus,  when  he  is  plainly  pointed  out  to  you, 
twist  his  slimy  arras  about  you,  until  your  minds 
are  besotted  and  your  wills  weakened,  and  he  has 
you  completely  in  his  power?  Parents,  what  are 
you  going  to  do  about  it  ?  You  would  not  allow 
a  prize  fight  or  a  bull  fight  to  take  place  within 
the  limits  of  your  municipality,  if  you  could  help 
it.  Why  should  you  allow  scenes  of  greater  cru- 
elt}'^  and  shameleasness  to  be  exhibited  to  our  boys 
and  girls  every  day  without  a  protest  ?  You  would 
not  allow  "  Leadville  Luke  "  or  "  Rattling  Rube  " 
to  ride  through  these  streets,  shooting  and  robbing 
to  their  heart's  content.  Why  should  you  allow 
them,  decked  in  all  the  pleasing  colors  of  romance, 
to  roam  through  the  imaginations  of  your  children  ? 
Leadville  Luke  running  amuck  seven  times  in  a 
week  through  these  streets  would  not  do  as  much 
harm  as  he  and  his  class  accomplish  in  the  minds 
of  our  young  people.         ^ 

If  the  people  of  the  land  would  arise  in  their 
might,  if  public  sentiment  would  back  up  the  law, 


102 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


this  gigantic  evil  would  be  quickly  disposed  of. 
♦'  There  is  no  evil,  the  power  of  which  is  stronger 
than  the  people,"  is  the  noble  utterance  of  the 
governor  of  one  of  our  western  states.  Of  this 
wrong  thing  these  words  are  true.  Prevalent  as 
it  is,  insidious  as  it  is,  it  is  not  stronger  than  the 
power  of  the  people. 

Then  let  us  all,  young  men  and  fathers,  maidens 
and  mothers,  by  our  influence  and  example,  by 
words  of  warning  and  prayers  for  help,  by  form- 
ing and  molding  public  sentiment  aright,  by  coun- 
t  .racting  evil  with  good,  do  our  share  in  unmask- 
ng  and  silenciag  this  battery  of  the  Evil  One. 


1 


ed  of. 
fonger 
)f  the 
)f  this 
ent  as 
Ein  the 

laidens 
?le,  by 
f  form- 
f  coun- 
amask- 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  LOW    THEATER. 

The  General  " Theater  Question"  hot  Dibcubskd. 
Warnings  from  the  Business  Men.  The  Murder- 
er's Stabting-Point.  The  Pbbtt,  to  Purity  of 
Cbabacteb.  The  Low  Theater  Always  Caters 
TO  Lust.  Three  Theater  Bills.  The  Rom  Shop 
NtxT  DooB.  Jesse  James  Plays  and  their 
"Strong  Situations."  The  Low  Tiikatbr  At- 
tempts TO  Make  Black  Appear  White  and  Con- 
fuses MoBAL  Distinctions.  The  True  Picture  of 
Vice.  .        .    i. 

I  DO  not  propose  to  discuss  the  "  Theater  Ques- 
tion" in  this  chapter.  Tliat  is  a  broad  subject 
whose  discussion  is  rarely  profitable  except  in 
private  corversation  with  those  who  are  conscien- 
tiously troubled  by  the  matter.  By  every  one  who 
bus  reached  years  of  discretion  this  question,  like 
othera  of  Christian  ethics,  card-playing,  dancing, 
etc.,  must  be  settled  for  himself.  Ask  a  few  ques- 
tions like  this  of  yourself.  "  Can  I  serve  my  God 
as  well  if  I  go  to  the  theater  as  if  I  stay  away  ? 

108 


104 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


{. 


can  I  help  those  who  see  me  there?  c&n  I  build 
up  my  own  character  in  the  best  manner  ?  can  I 
ask  God's  blessing  upon  me  there  ?  "  If  your  answer 
to  these  questions  is  an  unhesitating  "  yes,"  then 
go.  If  it  is  a  doubtful  or  hesitating  "  yes,"  or  an 
unqualified  "no,"  then  stay  away.  Never  offend 
conscience  in  any  of  these  matters.  You  are  put- 
ting out  the  eye  of  the  soul  when,  for  the  sake  of 
present  gratification,  you  are  doing  that  which 
you  think  may  be  wrong.  The  apostle's  old  rule 
about  the  unclean  meat  applies  here.  "  He  that 
doubteth  is  damned  if  he  eat." 

But  I  am  not  discussing  the  general  subject  of 
the  theater.    There  is  a  phase  of  the  subject  which 
is  often  overlooked,  but  which  sadly  needs  thought 
and  prayer  and  careful  attention  from  all   true 
men.     There  are  certain  plague  spots,  called  thea- 
ters, before  which  I  must  wave  the  danger  signal. 
As  the  red  flag  waves  from  the  pest-house  to  warn 
people  of  their  danger  in  passing  or  entering,  so 
the  only  appropriate  banner  for  these  play-housea 
is  the  red  flag  of   warning.     Indiscriminate  de- 
nunciation of  all  theaters  has  sometimes  over- 
leaped itself,  concealed  from  the  eyes  of  the  Chris- 


THF  ENE>rrES  OF  YOUTH. 


106 


tian  public  the  fact  that  there  are  festering  places, 
called  theaters,  in  every  large  city,  nrhich  bear  the 
same  relation  to  other  theaters  that  adulterated, 
poisoned  "tanglefoot"  bears  to  pure  wines  and 
liquors.  I  have  not  been  to  these  places  myself, 
and  I  know  that  when  I  make  this  confession  some 
will  say,  "  Then  you  are  talking  of  something  you 
know  nothing  about.  Your  testimony  must  be 
ruled  out  of  court."  But  softly,  my  friends.  One 
does  not  need  to  go  into  a  small-pox  hospital  to 
know  that  small-pox  is  a  horrible  disease  ;  the  tes- 
timony of  others,  the  scars  and  pits  of  those  who 
have  been  there,  and  one's  o\^n  common  sense, 
will  keep  him  out  of  such  a  place,  and  yet  not 
leave  him  ignorant  of  the  loathsome  malady.  The 
experience  of  others,  the  scarred  lives  of  those 
who  have  frequented  such  places,  the  indecent 
posters  with  which  these  places  advertise  them- 
selves upon  every  dead  wall,  all  tell  me  what  they 
are,  and  tell  me  ;o  wave  the  danger  signal  before 
your  eyes.  In  order  to  tell  you  that  it  is  danger- 
ous business  to  fall  off  a  wharf  into  deep  water  I 
need  not  go  and  fall  off  first  myself. 
Bat,  as  in  previous  chapters,  let  me  first  give 


f 


I    ! 


u 


106 


DANGEB  SIGNALS. 


the  boys  the  messages  which  some  of  their  friends 
have  sent  them,  through  me.     Says  one :  "A  loose 
play,  a  suggestive  play,  carries  impure  thoughts  and 
desires  with  it,  ~  it  degrades  instead  of  elevates. 
No  young  man  can  afford  either  money,  time,  or 
reputation  in  this  direction."     Another  sends  me 
a  strong  arraignment,  which  he  clips  from  his  daily 
paper,  of  "bill-boards,  flaunting  in  the  face  of  day, 
and  the  eyes  of  every  passer-by,  advertisements 
of  blonde  burlesque  or  opera-bouffe  troupes,  too 
indecent  and  too  shocking  to  be  tolerated  in  any 
community  that  considers  itself    enrolled  under 
the  banner  of  Christianity."     Another  classes  low 
theaters  with  bad  literature  and  promiscuous  dan- 
ces, and  thinks  that  they  all  lead  on  to  gambling,  li- 
centiousness, and  intemperance.    "Low  theaters," 
says  still  another,  "  are  about  as  bad  as  they  well 
can  be."     Another  writes :  "  I  was  in  the  habit  of 
attending  the  theater  mostly  for  the  music,  of  which 
I  was  very  fond,  and  let  me  tell  you,  boys,  there 
is  nothing  but  harm  in  them.     The  play  on  the 
boards  is  all  right,  perhaps,  but  the  afterpiece  and 
the   company  that  attends  are   full  of  dangers. 
Break  away  from  these  places,  or,  rather,  never 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


107 


friends  - 
A  loose 
rhts  and 
ilevates. 
time,  or 
mds  me 
liis  daily 
!  of  day, 
seraents 
pes,  too 
1  in  any 
d  under 
isses  low 
ous  dan- 
ibling,  11- 
heaters," 
;hey  well 
habit  of 

of  which 
lys,  there 
ly  on  the 
piece  and 

dangers, 
er,  never 


begin    to  go   to  them."      Still    another  writes: 
"  Young  people  should  avoid  these  places  entirely. 
The  habit  of  attending  them,  if  once   formed, 
often  leads  to  dishonesty.     I  have  known  many 
young   men    from  good  families   who  went  into 
stores  with  good  prospects,  but  other  young  men 
in  business  persuaded  them   to  go  to  low  thea- 
ters, as  the  first  evil  step.    Being  ambitious   to 
appear  as  smart  as    their  companions  and  not 
having  the  means  for  such  indulgence  of  their 
own,  they  purloined  from  their  employers,  were 
detected  and  disgraced."  Here  is  a  sad  story  which 
tells  how  one  fair,  young  life  went  to  pieces  on 
this  shoal.         .  '        - 

"About  twenty  years  ago,"  says  one  whose 
name  is  well  known  throughout  Boston,  "there 
came  to  my  iitore,  bringing  letters  of  recommenda- 
tion  from  a  firm  in  Vermont,  as  bright  and  hand- 
some a  boy  as  I  have  ever  seen.  His  face  was  as 
fair  as  that  of  a  girl.  His  whole  appearance  was 
captivating.  We  engaged  him  as  boy  in  the  store. 
He  won  favor  with  all.  After  a  few  months  I  dis- 
covered that  some  of  his  evenings  were  spent  at 
the  theater  and  other  places  of  amusement.    J 


108 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


?U' 


|ii^ 


warned  him  kindly  of  the  results  likely  to  follow. 
He  confessed  it  to  be  unwise  and  promised  to  shun 
them.    A  few  weeks  later  he  again  yielded  to  the 
enticer  and  went  a  step  lower  in  the  way  of  evil. 
Again  I  warned  him,  pleaded  with  him,  prayed  for 
him,  and  begged  him  in  the  name  of  and  for  the 
sake  of  his  sainted  mother  to  resist  such  tempta- 
tions, and  again  told  him  that  the  end  was  death. 
With  many  tears  he  promised  to  reform.     Not 
long  after,  he  left  us,  married  a  young  and  beauti- 
ful girl.    I  then  said    '  You  now  have  a  double 
motive  for  right  living.'    He  promised  that  his  life 
should  henceforth  be  upright.    But  appetite  was 
strong,  and  will  was  weak.    His  wife  had  money, 
and  wine  could  be  had  in  place  of  cheaper  drinks. 
He  went  into  business,  failed,  and,  step  by  step, 
sunk  down  lower  and  lower  in  the  scale.     He 
became  a  drunkard,  and  in  the  frenzy  of  madness 
toward  his  wife,  who  had  left  him  on  account  of 
his  brutality,  he  drew  a  pistol  and  shot  her  dead. 
Three  years  ago,  or  thereabouts,  this  young  and 
beautiful  boy,  grown  into  a  murderer,  finished 
his  course  on  the  gaUows  at  the  state's  prison  in 
Vermpnt."  "^  4" 


Ui  ! 


THE  ENEMIES   OF  YOUTH. 


109 


But  now  let  us  reason  about  this  matter  calmly 
and  rationally.  Let  ne  talk  with  you,  young 
friends,  as  though  we  were  sitting  together  in 
your  parlor  and  talking  over  these  matters  confi- 
dentially, and  will  you  not  deal  honestly  with 
yourselves?  You  know  something  about  these 
places,  I  am  afraid.  At  least  you  know  what  the 
staring  bill-boards  say.  Do  you  not  think  that 
there  is  a  peril  there  to  purity  of  character  ?  I  do 
not  believe  that  any  of  you  have  got  so  far  that 
you  despise  purity  of  character  and  laugh  at  femi- 
nine modesty.  I  do  not  believe  that  any  of  you 
have  sunk  so  low  that  yoa  have  forgotten  how  to 
blush.  I  pity  you  if  you  have.  Would  you  not 
hang  your  head  in  shame  if  you  saw  your  mother 
or  your  sister  attired  as  some  of  those  whom  you 
go  to  see  at  the  low  theater  are  attired  ?  "  Yet 
you  propose,"  says  Dr.  Cuyler,  "to  pay  3''our 
money  (through  the  box-office)  to  somebody  else's 
sister  and  daughter  to  violate  womanly  delicacy 
for  your  entertainment.  If 'the  daughter  of  He- 
eodias '  dances  to  please  you,  then  you  are  respon- 
sible for  the  dance,  both  in  its  influence  on  the 
dancer  and  on  your  own  moral  sense.    Your  eyes 


110 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


and  ears,"  he  goes  on  to  say,  "  are  windows  and 
doors  to  the  heart.  What  eaters  once  never  goes 
out.  Photographs  taken  on  the  memory  are  not 
easily  effaced  or  burned  up  ;  they  stick  there  and 
often  become  tempters  and  torraenters  for  a  life- 
time. '  I  'd  give  my  right  hand,'  said  a  Christian 
to  me  once,  'if  I  could  rub  out  the  abominable 
things  that  I  put  into  my  mind  when  I  was  a  fast 
young  man.'  He  could  not  do  it ;  neither  will  you 
be  able  to  efface  the  lascivious  images  or  the  impure 
words  which  the  stage  may  photograph  on  your 
soul."  Let  us,  I  say,  be  honest  with  ourselves. 
Have  you  ever  attended  one  of  these  low  shows 
but  there  has  been  something  about  it  to  pander 
to  lustful  desires  and  appetites  ? 

A  great  deal  is  said  about  elevating  the  tone  of 
the  stage.  I  do  not  despair  of  that  being  done. 
I  sincerely  hope  that  it  may  be  done  and  that  one 
of  these  days  it  may  take  its  place  with  the  acad- 
emy and  the  church  as  one  of  the  teachers  of  a 
pure,  exalted  morality.  If  we  could  remove  this 
mighty  moral  influence  from  the  Devil's  clutches, 
a  great  stride  in  the  regeneration  of  the  world 
would  be  taken.    But  it  does  not  look  as  though 


i: 


THE  ENBMIES  OF  YOTTTII. 


Ill 


the  tendency  was  in  that  direction.  As  I  walked 
out  the  other  day  I  took  especial  notice  of  a  huge 
bill-board  which  always  greets  our  eyes  as  we  go 
down  town.  On  that  board  three  plays  were  ad- 
vertised. One  was  called  a  musical  farce  and  ex- 
travaganza, if  I  remember  right,  and  the  chief 
figure  which  struck  the  eye  upon  it  was  a  hide- 
ously bruised  and  bloated  individual,  with  a  bristly 
beard,  and  his  head  covered  with  patches  of  court 
plaster,  and  otherwise  deformed  to  the  full  extent 
of  the  bill  printer's  power.  If  such  an  individual 
presented  himself  at  our  doors  he  would  frighten 
the  ladies,  and  receive  a  polite  invitation  from  the 
gentlemen  to  descend  the  steps,  until  he  could 
make  himself  presentable.  The  next  bil  on  the 
same  board  represented  a  scene  in  a  parlor,  where 
one  man  is  reeling  backwards  from  the  effects  of 
a  shot,  from  a  smoking  pistol  in  the  hands  of 
another  man,  while  the  legend  underneath  the  pic- 
ture, referring,  evidently,  to  the  shooting  scene, 
reads,  "  Take  that,  you  fool."  On  this  same  board 
is  still  another  placard  advertising  a  dramatization 
of  Peck's  Bad  Boy,  one  of  the  worst  books  that 
has  been  issued  during  this  generation.    It  is  the 


i 


=9 


"^.  '.\--«iiBl*~ 


iPii 


112 


DANOEn  SIGNALS. 


quintessence  of  disrespect  of  parents,  vile  sugges- 
tivcness,  and  coarsest  kind  of  low  wit.  I  would 
rather  a  poison  adder  should  wriggle  into  my  chil- 
dren's nursery,  than  that  such  a  book  should  find 
a  spot  in  their  hearts  ;  and  yet  it  is  the  dramatiza- 
tion of  such  a  book  that  tliis  poster  invites  all 
the  children  to  witness.  Such  is  the  choice 
selection  of  announccmi  nts  borne  by  one  bill- 
board on  a  single  day ;  and  the  theaters  where 
these  plays  are  enacted  Jo  not  all  belong  to  the 
"  low "  class  of  which  I  have  been  speaking.  If 
such  are  the  apples  of  Sodom  borne  on  these  so- 
called  respectable  trees,  what  sort  of  fruit  do  the 
others  bear? 

Another  peril  of  the  low  theater  is  its  inevitable 
surroundings.  I  will  not  speak  of  the  character  of 
many  of  the  performers,  nor  of  the  company  you 
may  meet  there,  but  ask  you  for  a  moment  to  think 
of  that  rum-shop  next  door.  Did  you  ever  see  one 
of  these  establishments  without  its  grog-shop? 
Like  the  Siamese  twins  they  always  go  together. 
Chang  and  Eng  are  never  separated.  If  you  have 
too  much  self-respect  to  go  out  between  the  acts 
"to  see  a  man"  or  tr  get  some  "cloves,"  there  is 


%i' 


TTIE  ENEMIES  OP  YOUTH. 


in 


)  sugges- 
I  would 
my  chil- 
>uld  find 
ramatiza- 
vites  all 
10  choice 
one  bill- 
13  where 
g  to  the 
king.  If 
these  so- 
Lit  do  the 

nevitable 
iracter  of 
pany  you 
t  to  think 
er  see  one 
rog-shop  ? 
together, 
you  have 
I  the  acts 
"  there  is 


the  free  lunch  counter  and  biir-roora,  brigJitly 
lighted  and  attractive,  standing  open,  when  you 
come  out  late  at  night,  tired  and  thirsty.  If  a 
man  is  known  by  the  company  he  keeps,  is  not  an 
institution  known  in  the  same  way,  and  is  not  the 
low  theater  always  known  by  the  grog-shop  that 
nestles  under  its  shadow  ? 

"  It  is  a  prevalent  hubit  with  young  people  who 
attend   the  theater,"  says   ane   who   has   written 
wisely  upon  this  subject,  "  to  remain  until  a  late 
hour  amid  the  excitements  of  the  plays  and  then 
finish  off  with  a  midnight  lunch,  or  a  wine  supper, 
at  some  neighboring  restaurant.     To  this  practice 
a  young  lady  of  my  acquaintance  owed  her  down- 
fall.   Long  after  sensible  people  have  laid  their 
heads  upon  their  pillows,  the  frequenters  of  the 
theater  are  apt  to  be  adding  a  second  scene  of  dis- 
sipation to  the  first."     This  writer  puts  it  very 
mildly  when   he  says,  "It  must  bo  pretty  hard 
work  for  a  Christian  to  finish  up  such  an  even- 
ing's experience,  with  an  honest  prayer  for  God's 
blessing.     That  is  indeed  a  poor  business  and  a 
poor  pleasure  on  which  we  cannot  with  a  clear 
conscience  ask  our  Heavenly  Father's  approval." 


114 


DAKQEB  SIGNALS. 


But  there  is  still  another  peril  connected  with 
these  low  places  of  amusement,  which  I  would 
dwell  upon  for  a  few  minutes.    This  is  the  unnat- 
ural and  impossible  views  of  life  which  these  ' 
theaters  present.    In  this  respect  the  bad  book  and 
the  bad  play  exert  very  much  the  same  influence, 
except  that  the  play,  from  its  very  nature,  is  more 
alluring  and  fascinating.     Our  lives  are  very  much 
as  are  our  early  dreams  of  life.     If  we  start  with 
noble  ideals  the  lives  will  pretty  certainly  be 
noble.    If  the  ideals  are  degraded  the  lives  will 
pretty  certainly  be  degraded.    There  is  a  type  of 
play  very  popular,  just  now,  which  tends  to  con- 
fuse all  moral  distinctions,  and  make  black  appear 
white,  and  white  black;   which  sets  before  our 
young  people,  as  their  ideal  of  manhood,  the  out- 
law of  the  plains.     That  evil  is  in  the  same  class 
as    the   flashy,   blood-and-thunder   novel,  and  is 
bven  more  alluring,  since  it  decks  out  with  scenery 
and  paint  and  action,  and  places  behind  the  foot- 
lights, that  which  the  bad  book  can  only  represent 
with  cold  type   and  printer's  ink.     I  have  fre- 
quently seen  upon  our  bill-boards,  just  such  shows 
advertised  and  they  are  never  long  absent  from 


mmi 


THE   ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


115 


ed  with 
[  would 
3  unnat- 
ih  these  ' 
»ook  and 
ifluence, 
,  is  more 
iry  much 
bart  with 
ainly  be 
ives  will 
V  type  of 
a  to  con- 
ic appear 
jfore  our 
,  the  out- 
me  class 
I,  and  is 
1  scenery 
the  foot- 
represent 
have  fre- 
ch  shows 
ent  from 


any  large  city.  A  friend  recently  sent  me  an  ac- 
count of  such  a  show,  which  was  recently  wit- 
nessed in  St.  Louis  by  forty  thousand  people. 
Such  is  the  kind  of  Sunday  show  which  is  set 
before  the  young  people  of  a  western  city. 

If  there  is  anything  that  is  particularly  harmful 
to  the  average  American  boy  it  is  just  such  repre- 
sentations of  exciting  crime.  Our  boys  are  high- 
strung,  nervous,  excitable,  like  the  rest  of  our 
people.  It  is  like  bringing  a  spark  to  a  mass  of 
tow  to  emblazon  our  walls  with  these  pictures, 
and  parade  our  streets  with  music  and  painted 
Indians,  and  then  to  go  through  with  the  mock- 
fights  and  murders  and  robberies  in  our  places  of 
public  amusement.  The  phlegmatic  Dutchman  or 
the  stolid  Indian  might  stand  such  scenes  and  not 
be  much  harmed,  but  the  young  American,  all 
nerves  and  imagination  and  enthusiasm,  to  him  it 
is  often  like  the  intoxicating  cup  to  see  such 
things.  If  Buffalo  Bill  or  Jesse  James  gets  a 
secure  lodging-place  in  these  young  minds,  I  see 
no  chance  there  for  the  example  of  Jesus  Christ 
or  the  words  of  St.  Paul  to  take  root.  As  well 
might  you  sow  wheat  in  a  field  completely  covered 


mn 


116 


DANGER   SIGNALS. 


with  Canada  thistles  and  expect  to  reap  an  abun- 
dant harvest.  First  root  out  the  thistles,  then 
BOW  the  wheat.  Let  us  try  to  pull  up  the  thorns 
that  the  good  seed  may  have  a  chance  to  grow. 
It  is  but  following  our  Lord's  example.  He  drove 
out  the  money-changers  from  the  temple,  as  well 
as  proclaimed  in  the  temple  the  way  of  life.  He 
pronounced  a  woe  upon  the  proud  as  well  as  a 
beatitude  upon  the  meek. 

I  will  not  attempt  to  describe  the  highly  wrought 
sensationalism  of  these  plays,  but  simply  give  a 
quiet,  evidently  truthful  newspaper  account  which 
describes  one  of  these  typical  dramas.     "  The  sen- 
sational play,  recounting  the  deeds  of  the  famous 
Missouri  bandit,  Jesse  James,  drew  a  large  up- 
stairs audience  last  night.    The  play  proved  to  be 
all  that  its  patrons  could  desire.    They  went  to 
see  murders,  robberies,  fights,  and  other  such  pleas- 
ant little  pastimes,  and  they  were  satisfied  to  their 
heart's  content.     All  the   strong  situations  with 
which   the  piece   abounded,  were  received  with 
demonstrations  of  delight."   A  "  strong  situation," 
I   suppose,    consists    in    a  peculiarly    dastardly 
robbery  or  an   unusually  blood-curdling  murder. 


41 


mmi 


'4:^^^; 


m  abun- 
les,  then 
e  thorns 
to  grow. 
He  drove 
I,  as  well 
life.  He 
veil  as  a 

wrought 
y  give  a 
int  which 

The  sen- 
e  famous 
large  up- 
ved  to  be 
r  went  to 
uch  pleas- 
d  to  their 
ions  with 
ived  with 
dtuation," 

dastardly 
gr  murder. 


THE  ENEMIES  OP  YOUTH. 


117 


These  horrors  have  been  received  with  "  demon- 
strations of  delight  "  by  New  England  audiences, 
by  audiences  in  which  were  some  of  our  boys  and 
girls,  by  men  and  women  upon  whom  have  been 
turned  aU  their  lives  the  electric  light  of  nineteen 
centuries  of  civilization  and  Christianity.    "  The 
play,"  continues  this  newspaper  account,  "con- 
sists of  a  series  of  scenes  and   incidents  in  the 
Hves  of  Jesse  and  Frank  James.    Tlie  first  repre- 
sents their  happy  home  [the  happy  home,  I  would 
have  you  notice,  of  thieves  and  murderers  and 
blacklegs]  ;  the  second,  the  plains  of  Kansas ;  the 
third,  a  horse  race  and  a  robbery ;  the  fourth,  the 
outlaws  on  the  Missouri  river,  introducing  an  en- 
counter between  the  outlaws  and  the  sheriflf ;  and 
the  fifth,  the  home  of  Jesse  James  and  his  assas- 
sination by  the  Fords."     Though  the  James  Broth- 
ers are  passing  into  deserved  oblivion,  the  type  of 
character  which  they  represent  is  still  multiplied 
by  these  catch-penny  shows. 

I  do  not  believe  that  a  civilized  community  ever 
suffered  from  an  exhibition  of  more  outrageous 
crime.  We  reprobate  and  loathe  the  gladiatorial 
shows  in  which  the  old  Romans   delighted,  but 


118 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


I  \- 


there  was  some  excuse  for  those  shows.     With  all 
their  cruelty  they  were  exhibitions  of  muscular 
strerigtb  and  physical  endurance.     These  shows 
are  exhibitions  of  little  besides  perfidy  and  crime. 
The   only  redeeming  feature  about  them  is  the 
horses,  which,  I  have  no  doubt,  could  they  speak, 
would  tell  us  they  were  ashamed  of  the  company 
they  keep.     Napoleon  was  not  a  man  of  strict  mor- 
als ;  he  did  not  govern  his  people  upon  Puritanic 
models,  by  any  means,  but,  fronr  what  I  know  of 
his  code  of  laws,  I  do  not  believe  he  would  have 
allowed  any  such  plays  within  the  borders  of  his 
land.     He  had  had  a  demonstration  of  the  evils  of 
such  plays  in  the  great  revolution  which  preceded 
his  accession   to  power.      Says   Edmund  Burke, 
writing    of     the    French    Revolution:     "While 
courts  of  justice  were  thrust  out  by  Jacobin  tri- 
bunals,  and  silent  churches   were  only   funeral 
monuments  of  departed  religion,  when  Paris  was 
like  a  den  of  outlaws,  a  lewd  tavern  for  revel  and 
debaucheries,  there  were  in  that  city  no  fewer 
than  twenty-eight   theaters,  crowded   night  after 
night.     From  the  theater  at  night  back  to  butch- 
ery, blasphemy,  and  debauchery  in  the  day-time. 


aiMi 


miJiB-u  j,  jyjn»iji,ij  I  _ivtfflinVMt-M»..iM  '^utw^ivmM.ty»'..~.«. 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


119 


With  all 
muscular 
sse  shows 
,nd  crime, 
im  is  the 
ley  speak, 
I  company 
itrict  mor- 

Puritanic 
I  know  of 
ould  have 
lers  of  his 
he  evils  of 
I  preceded 
nd  Burke, 
"  While 
icobin  tri- 
ly   funeral 

Paris  was 
f  revel  and 

no  fewer 
aight  after 
i  to  butch- 
3  day-time. 


IVom  butchery,  blasphemy,   and   debaucliery  in 
the  day-time  back  to  the  theater  at  night."    In 
our  orderly  cities  we  allow  what  Napoleon  Bon- 
aparte would  not   allow,  we  allow  one  of    the 
agencies  which  has  always  been  hand  and  glove 
with  rapine  and  anarchy.     Whatever  may  be  the 
pretext  of   these   plays,  or  the  eloquent  denun- 
ciations of  crime  which  are  sometimes  out  into 
the  mouths  of  the  despairing  ouUaw  just  as  he 
dies,  their  real  effect  is  to  make  the  cut-throat 
not  the  villain  of  the  plot,  but  the  hero.     What- 
ever  may  be  the  pretence,  his  deeds  in  reality 
are  never  held  up  for  detestation  and  scorn.    Ac- 
cording to  these  plays  it  is  a  brave  thing  to  rob 
an  unprotected  stage-coach  I     It  is  a  r.oble  deed 
to  make  families  penniless,  and  wives  widows,  and 
children  orphans,  if  it  is  only  done  out-doors  on 
the  Kansas  plains.      The  repi-esentation  of  that 
which  ought  to  send  the  perpetrators  to  the  gal- 
lows is  received  with  demonstrations  of  delight 
by  an  American  audience.         ^'  I   '  i 

Did  you  know,  my  young  friends,  that  the  Devil 
has  always  been  at  work  in  this  way  from  the 
time  Eve  ate  the  apple,  trying  to  prove  that  evil 


w^ 


m 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


is  good  and  good  is  evil  ?  "  It  will  not  hurt  you," 
he  said  to  the  mother  of  the  race.  "  It  is  good. 
It  -.vill  make  you  wise ;  that  is  the  reason  God  is 
afraid  to  have  you  eat  it."  With  Eve's  sons  and 
daughters,  ever  since,  he  has  been  pursuing  the 
same  line  of  argument,  and  I  believe  he  never 
found  a  more  useful  agent  to  do  his  bidding  than 
^when  he  sent  out  these  theatrical  troupes  to  make 
robbery,  and  murder,  and  arson  appear  brave  and 
attractive ;  and  slow,  plodding  virtue  to  appear 
correspondingly  tamp  and  uncttractive.  Suppose 
we  should  wake  up  some  morning  to  find  all  the 
ordinary  distinctions  which  nature  makes  between 
the  harmful  and  the  harmless  blotted  out.  Here  is 
a  red-hot  fire  of  coals,  but  it  does  not  look  like  a 
fire,  it  looks  like  a  bed  of  roses,  so  you  take  a  hand- 
ful and  put  them  in  ytur  bosom.  Here  is  a  serpent 
with  a  deadly  fang,  but  it  does  not  look  like  a  ser- 
pent, it  looks  like  a  beautiful  singing  bird,  which 
we  carry  home  as  a  plaything  for  our  children.  It 
is  a  bitter,  zero  day,  but  it  does  not  look  or  feel  so, 
and,  tempted  by  the  false  idea  that  it  is  a  balmy, 
June-like  day,  we  venture  out,  unprotected,  and 
meet  death  in  the  frosty  air.     Would  it  be  the 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  TOUTH. 


121 


a  art  you," 
t  is  good, 
on  God  is 
)  sons  and 
•suing  tho 

he  never 
[ding  than 
3S  to  make 

brave  and 

to  appear- 
Suppose 
and  all  the 
es  between 
Lit.  Here  is 
look  like  a 
ike  a  hand- 
is  a  serpent 
I  like  a  ser- 
bird,  which 
lildren.  It 
k  or  feel  so, 

is  a  balmy, 
)tected,  and 
d  it  be  the 


sign  of  a  wise,  benevolent  Providence  thus  to  con- 
fuse natural  objects  and  signs  of  danger  and  make 
the  evil  in  the  world  appear  good  and  the  good 
evil  ?  Nay,  would  it  not  be  a  proof  that  a  malev- 
olent deity  ruled  the  world?  God  never  thus 
treats"  us.  Fire  burns  and  we  always  know  that 
it  will  burn ;  deadly  serpents  sting  and  we  know 
they  will  sting.  Zero  weather  freezes  and  we 
know  it  will  always  and  everywhere  freeze.  God 
never  makes  a  bed  of  coals  look  like  a  bed  of 
roses,  or  a  rattlesnake  look  like  a  humming  bird. 
But  that  is  just  what  these  miserable  dramas  of 
successful  villainy  too  often  accomplish,  by  mak- 
ing a  murderer  into  a  hero,  and  a  thief  into  a 
"bandit  king."  These  plays,  too,  drag  into  the 
full  glow  of  the  calcium  light  that  which  God  in- 
tended to  stifle  in  the  low,  dark  dens  of  vice,  or  to 
hide  in  the  fastnesses  of  the  Western  woods. 

God  has  permitted  evil  in  the  world,  but  he  has 
compelled  it  for  the  most  part  to  hide  its  head.  It 
goes  abroad  in  the  night  not  in  the  day-time.  It 
recruits  its  forces  in  dark  cellars.  It  has  its  hid- 
ing place  in  the  outlaw's  cave,  where  the  light  of 
the  sun  never  pierces,  and,  if  we  cannot  extirpate 
6 


■BPia-i.^ 


122 


DANGEB  SIGNALS. 


it,  we  should  not  parade  it  in  the  brightness  of 
day.  One  great  demoralizer  of  our  times  is  this 
parade  of  evil.  The  latest  murder  is  too  often 
displayed  in  head  lines,  the  latest  deed  of  benevo- 
lence is  found  in  nonpareil  type  at  the  foot  of  the 
column.  The  last  scandal  is  the  talk  at  every 
breakfast-table,  the  latest  proof  that  Christ's  king- 
dom is  extending  over  all  the  world  is  never  men- 
tioned. These  plays  of  which  I  am  speaking  are 
only  exaggerated  signs  of  this  tendency  of  our 
times,  to  drag  out  into  the  light  the  vicious  and 
degrading.  If  we  cannot  reform  the  villain,"  let 
us  at  least  compel  him  to  hide  away  and  not  go 
about  dressed  in  better  clothes  than  honest  folks 
can  wear.  A  murderer's  life  is  not  happ^'.  'A 
robber's  home  is  not  an  earthly  paradise,  and  it 
never  can  be  until  God  and  Satan  change  places. 
Satan  would  be  very  glad  to  have  you  think  so. 
He  is  always  trying  to  make  it  out  so.  Don't 
believe  him,  young  people.  He  tells  the  young 
tippler  tljere  is  happiness  in  the  wine  cup.  Ten 
thousand  drunkards  give  the  lie  to  his  words.  He 
makes  the  young  girl  think  that  a  life  bordering 
on  the  indelicate  and  the  fast  is  most  pleasant. 


THE  ENEMIES  OP  YOUTH. 


128 


ightness  of 
mes  is  this 
3  too  often 
of  benevo- 
foot  of  the 
ik  at  every 
hrist's  king- 
never  men- 
peaking  are 
ency  of  our 
vicious  and 
)  villain,  let 
and  not  go 
honest  folks 
i  happy, 
adise,  and  it 
lange  places, 
'^ou  think  so. 
,t  so.     Don't 
Is  the  young 
le  cup.    Ten 
s  words.    He 
ife  bordering 
lost  pleasant. 


Ten  thousand  old  ball-room  flirts  know  better. 
He  makes  the  boy  believe  that  the  fast  young  man 
about  town  has  the  best  time.  Ten  thousand 
debauchees,  worn  out  with  lust  before  they  are 
fort}  know,  now,  hQw  they  were  deceived  in 
believing  this.  Vice  does  not  contribute  to  the 
enjoyment  of  life.  Its  place  is  not  in  a  pleasant 
parlor,  with  a  happy  wife  and  children,  and  with 
pious  mottoes  over  the  fireplace.  Wickedness 
tends  directly  to  rags,  filth,  squalor,  misery,  and 
despair.  « 

If  you  really  want  to  see  the  outcome  of  vil- 
lainy do  not  look  to  see  it  represented  by  a  Jesse 
J.nmes  troupe  or  expect  to  sec  it  depicted  in  their 
gaudy  posters.  Go  to  the  upper  end  of  North 
street  in  Boston  or  the  slums  of  New  York. 
There  is  where  you  see  the  real  results  of  disobe- 
dience to  the  laws  of  God  and  man.  In  those  rum- 
soaked,  blear-eyed,  broken-down  men;  in  those 
brazen-faced,  blasphemous  women ;  in  those  ragged, 
dirty,  half-naked  children ;  iu  those  filthy  alleys ;  in 
those  dilapidated  tenements;  in  those  windows 
stuffed  with  hats  and  bundles  of  rags  to  keep  out 
the  winter  cold  and  snow ;  in  them  you  will  find ' 


^ 


124 


DANGER  8IOKALS. 


the  true  picture  of  the  outcome  of  evil,  and  it  is 
an  outrage  upon  the  morals  of  any  community  to 
paint  it  otherwise.  Hogarth  deserves  the  thanks 
of  the  Christian  world  for  painting  the  steps  in  a 
drunkard's  life  as  he  did ;  for  showing  the  gradual 
descent  from  respectahility  to  loathsome  and  exe- 
crable debauchery.  If  he  had  gone  the  other  way 
and  represented  a  rake's  progress  as  pleasant  and 
respectable,  and  on  the  whole  quite  enjoyable,  he 
■would  deserve  the  sternest  rebuke  of  every  moral- 
ist, but  no  more  would  he  deserve  it,  than  do 
those  actors  who  make  the  outlaw  into  the  gentle- 
man, and  surround  the  thief  with  the  blessings 
which  only  an  honest  life  can  bring. 

My  young  friends,  I  pray  that  none  of  your 
lives  ma-  be  wrecked  on  this  rock  which  I  have 
pointed  out.  I  feel  indeed  that  you  are  in  danger 
of  being  led  to  call  evil  good  and  good  evil,  if 
you  look  upon  these  false  and  silly  representations. 
Have  nothing  to  do  with  them.  In  spite  of  you, 
if  you  witness  them,  they  will  lower  your  moral 
tone  and  corrupt  the  springs  of  your  life.  No 
true  manhood  ever  grew  out  of  a  boyhood  ab- 
sorbed in  such  scenes  of  vice  and  crime.    Christ 


THE  ENEMIES  OP  YOUTH. 


125 


il,  and  it  is 
mrauuity  to 
the  thanks 
le  steps  in  a 
the  gradual 
me  and  exe- 
le  other  way 
[)lea8ant  and 
jnjoyable,  he 
every  moral- 
it,  than  do 
;o  the  gentle- 
the  blessings 

lone  of  your 
which  I  have 
are  in  danger 
good  evil,  if 
presentations. 
I  spite  of  you, 
jr  your  moral 
^our  life.  No 
I  boyhood  ab- 
crime.    Christ 


will  never  take  np  his  abode  in  company  with 
thieves  and  cut-throats.     If  you  have  been  har- 
boring one  of  these  villains  of  late  in  your  imugi- 
nation,  turn  him  out,  I  pray  you,  before  he  makes 
you  in  spirit  like  himpelf.     Hear  the  end  of  the 
woe  against  those  who  call  evil  good  and  good 
evil,  for  just  this  blotting  out  of  moral  distinctions 
is  what  these  plays  accomplish.    "Therefore  as 
the  fire  burneth   up   the   stubble   and   the  flame 
consumeth  the  chaff,  so  their  root  shall  be  as  rot- 
tenness and  their  blossom  shall  go  up  as  dust." 
So,  I  fear,  will  it  be  with  you,  if  you  give  place  in 
your  heart  to  these  demons  who  are  trying  to 
crowd  their  way  in ;  your  root  of  good  principle 
will  be  as  rottenness,  and  the  blossom  of  your 
future  promise  will  go  up  as  dust.     Then  beware 
of  the  low,  play-house  door.     "  Avoid  it,  pass  not 
by  it,  turn  from  it,  and  pass  on," 


■C-o. 


I;  , 


ll 


If 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  GAMBLING  DEN. 

THB  LITTLK  HOR8K9  OF  INTEBLAKKN.      BA9E-BALL  POOI^ 

Booms.    Fbom  the  Prize  Candy  Bag  to  the  Rou- 

LETTB     TABLE.       THE     BEANS     IN     A     BOTrLE.       THE 

Soap   Lottery.     What    the    Boston    Merchants 

HAVE  to  say.  THE  BUTCHER  BIRD  OF  THE  COM- 
MUNITY, now  A  MILLION  DOLLA.W  A  YEAR  CHANGE 
HANDS.  REVELATIONS  OF  AN  OlD  OAMBLEB.  TH« 
GAMBLER'S  PREVAILING  TRAm.  CUPIDITY  AND 
LAZINESS.        MIDAS'     EARS.       GOOD     THINGS     ALWAYS 

COST.    The  Devil's  Private  Way. 
Whoever    visits   Interlaken  goes,  of   course, 
to  the  Kursaal,  which  is  one  of  the  chief  attrac 
tions  of  the  place.    Here  are  beautiful  gardens 
and  floNving  fountains,   placid    little  lakes,   and 
beds  of   swceUcented  flowers,  while,  off  m  the 
distance,  towers,  ever,  the  white-veiled  Jungfrau 
Here  in  the  garden  are  little  parties,  sitting  about 
small  tables,  eating  and  drinking  and  smoking 
and  chatting,  but  the  center  of  attraction  i.  the 
corner  where  the  petiU  cheveam  are  racing  about 


-MA.-MoaM 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


m 


-Ball  Pooi/- 
to  the  rou- 
JorrLK.  Thk 
Merchants 
df  the  com- 

iTEAB  CHANQB 
miBLEB.  THJS 
DPIDITY  AND 
IING8     ALWAYS 

,  of   course, 
chief  attrac- 
;iful  gardens 
3  lakes,   and 
e,  off  in  the 
ed  Jungfrau. 
sitting  about 
and  smoking 
raction  i"8  the 
1  racing  about 


their  miniature  ring.  Placards  on  the  walls  tell 
you  to  go  and  see  the  "  little  horses,"  and  when 
you  come  to  them,  you  find  a  row  of  little  silver 
steeds  on  a  circular  board  which  the  o^'rc  sets 
in  motion,  while  an  eager  crowd  all  ab>."*  Lira, 
young  men  and  women,  sedate  fathers  nd 
matrons,  grandfathers  and  grandmothers  even, 
are  betting  their  francs  on  which  of  those  little 
silver  images  will  spin  the  furthest  on  the  smooth 
board. 

I  think  that  scene  is  typical  of  gambling  opera- 
tions the  world  over.  The  little  horses  are  always 
racing,  and  racing  away  with  the  money  of  the 
victims.  The  little  horses  are  always  under  the 
control  of  the  gambler.  He  sets  them  spinning, 
or  stops  them  at  his  pleasure.  Whoever  loses,  it 
is  never  the  gambler  behind  the  horses.  Who- 
ever wins,  it  is  sure  to  be,  in  the  long  run,  the 
gambler  behind  the  horses.  To  tell  you  of  some 
of  these  little  horses  who  are  likely  to  run  off 
with  your  money,  and  good  name,  and  good  prin- 
ciples, is  my  purpose  in  this  chapter.  You  need 
not  go  to  the  Kursaal  of  Interlaken  to  find  them. 
They  are  racing  about  in  every  city,  and  I  fear 


128 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


that  on  them  some  of  you  have  already  taken 
your  first  ride  in  the  direction  of  the  bottomless 
pit.  A  short  time  since  there  were  over  forty 
well-known  faro  houses  in  Boston,  whose  names 
have  been  given  in  one  of  our  daily  papers,  where 
the  proprietors  and  the  trustees  and  the  owners 
of  the  buildings  were  known.  Everybody  that 
looked  into  the  matter  knew  where  they  were 
except  the  city  authorities,  whose  duty  it  was  to 
shut  them  up. 

But  I  am  hot  so  much  afraid  of  these  notorious 
gambling  dens  as  I  am  of  the  many  pool-rooms, 
and  poker-rooms,  and  billiard  saloons,  where  the 
little  horses  are  always  racing,  and  tempting  you 
to  a  ride  to  death  with  them.  I  am  told  that  in 
three  pool-rooms  of  Boston  in  the  year  1884,  at 
least  one  million  dollars  changed  hands,  mostly 
during  the  base-ball  season.  Do  you  know  what 
that  means?  It  does  not  mean  that  our  capital- 
ists, our  solid  men  of  business,  who  have  money 
to  spare,  risk  and  lose  their  money  on  the  all- 
engrossing  question,  whether  the  Bostons  will 
beat  the  Providence  nine  or  not,  or  whether  Gal- 
vin  will  make  a  run,  or  Burdock  will  score  on  t^e 


idy  taken 
)ottomles8 
)ver  forty 
Dse  names 
era,  'vhere 
he  owners 
body  that 
they  were 
r  it  was  to 

3  notorious 
lool-rooms, 
where  the 
npting  you 
)ld  that  in 
ar  1884,  at 
ids,  mostly 
know  what 
our  capital- 
lave  money 
on  the  all- 
ostons  will 
whether  Gal- 
score  on  t'le 


THE  ENEMIES   OF   YOUTH. 


129 


seventh  inning  of  the  league  game.  It  would  be 
bad  enough  if  such  men,  who  had  money  to  risk, 
lost  it ;  but  these  base-ball  pool-rooms  mean  that 
our  clerks  and  school  boys  and  artisans,  who  have 
no  money  to  spare,  are  taking  losing  rides  on  these 
little  silver  horses.  Tlie  great  bulk  of  that  mil- 
lion dollars,  lost  last  year,  came  from  just  this 
class.  You  see  in  the  rum-shop  virindows  this  pla- 
card in  election  times :  "  Election  returns  received 
here  every  hour  " ;  and  when  the  base-ball  season 
commences,  we  see  in  those  same  windows :  "  Base- 
ball returns  received  here  after  each  inning." 
Look  out  for  those  places,  boys  1  The  little  silver 
horses  are  waiting  in  there  to  give  you  a  swift 
ride  to  destruction.  It  is  a  shame  that  our 
national  game,  about  which  there  is  so  much  that 
is  truly  admirable  in  skill  and  athletic  exercise, 
should  be  prostituted  to  fill  a  gambler's  till. 

Then  there  are  lotteries  in  all  forms  and  shapes. 
I  wish  I  might  open  them  to  your  view  in  their 
real  character,  and  write  over  the  door  of  every 
one  of  them :  "  Beware,  beware  !  The  little  horses 
within  here  seem  to  be  of  silver,  but  it  is  silver 
wrung  in  ten  cent  pieces  from  the  pockets  of  the 
6* 


180 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


poor  man,  and  every  one  that  takes  a  ride  on  them 
will  be  nearer  the  gates  of  destruction  than  when 
he  started."  Says  one  of  the  Judges  of  the 
supreme  court  of  Kentucky,  as  quoted  by  Anthony 
Comstock :  "  Lottery  gambling  is  the  worst  spe- 
cies of  gaming,  because  it  brings  adroitness,  cun- 
ning, experience,  and  skill,  to  contend  against 
ignorance,  folly,  distress,  and  desperation.  Every 
new  loss  is  an  inducement  to  a  new  adventure ; 
and,  filled  with  vain  hope  of  recovering  what  is 
lost,  the  unthinking  victim  is  led  on,  from  step  to 
step,  till  he  finds  it  impossible  to  regain  his 
ground,  and  he  gradually  sinks  into  a  miserable 
outcast,  or,  by  a  bold  and  still  more  guilty  effort, 
plunges  at  once  into  that  gulf  where  he  hopes  for 
protection  from  the  stings  of  conscience,  a  refuge 
from  the  reproaches  of  the  world,  and  oblivion 
from  existence."  ^    :   ^. 

It  woul  1  b<!  amusing,  were  it  not  so  sad,  to 
observe  iii'  n'^enuity  of  the  Devil  in  offering 
our  young  ,  •;)1>j  a  ride  on  one  of  the  little  silver 
horses  of  chance.  Here  is  that  noble  institution, 
the  church  fair.  Of  course  it  is  all  right,  the 
boy  or  girl  tliinks,  to  attend  a  church  fair,  and 


on  tliem 
m  when 

of  the 
\nthony 
)r3t  spe- 
eds, cuii- 

against 
.    Every 
venture ; 
r  what  is 
m  step  to 
egain  his 
miserable 
,lty  effort, 
hopes  for 
),  a  refuge 
1  oblivion 

so  sad,  to 
n  offering 
little  silver 
institution, 
right,  the 
h  fair,  and 


THIS  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


181 


here  in  the  fair  is  a  guess-cake,  or  a  grab-bag,  or 
Pandora's  box,  or  Fortune's  well,  or  some  chance 
to  invest  a  dime  or  a  quarter,  with  the  chance  of 
drawing  an  unknown  prize.  If  there  is  anything 
to  be  reprobated  or  despised,  it  is  just  this  species 
of  gambling. 

We  do  not  wonder  when  we  see  the  gambler's 
table  and  the  rum-shop  side  by  side.  They  are 
congenial  companions.  But  when  the  gambler's 
tools  and  methods  are  brought  into  the  house  of 
God  for  the  ostensible  purpose  of  sui)porting 
public  worship,  or  some  charitable  institution,  it  is 
time  for  every  Christian  man  to  repeat  his  Mas- 
ter's words :  "  My  house  shall  be  called  the  house 
of  prayer :  but  ye  have  made  it  a  den  of  thieves." 
The  church  or  the  charity  which  cannot  live  with- 
out grab-bags  and  guess-cakes,  had  a  thousand 
times  better  die. 

But  the  Evil  One  uses  still  subtler  means  than 
the  church  fair,  to  incite  the  love  for  gaming. 
Here  is  the  little  five-year-old,  who  looks  with 
longing  eyes  at  the  tempting  candy,  or  toothsome 
pop-corn  in  the  shop  window.  He  begs  a  couple 
of  pennies  of  papa  or  mamma,  and  makes  his  first 


s — 


132 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


investment  in  a  prize  candy  bag,  or  pop-corn  pack- 
age. He  takes  hia  first  ride  on  the  silver  horse. 
The  notion  is  first  started  in  his  little  head,  that 
perhaps  he  can  get  something  for  nothing,  which 
is  the  idea  at  the  root  of  all  gambling. 

Cleanliness  is  next  to  godliness,  we  are  told, 
and  soap  is  essential  to  cleanliness,  and  yet,  even 
V  ith  this  most  unpromising  article,  the  gambler 
found  a  way,  a  year  or  two  ago,  to  make  money. 

"The    plan    is,"   says    Mr.   Comstock,   in  his 
"Traps  for  the  Young";   "in  order  to  induce 
people  to  buy  their  soap,  to  take  advantage  of  the 
gambling  propensities  of  the  day,  and  to  adver- 
tise a  lottery  or  game  of  chance  in    connection 
with  the  soap  business.     They  wrap  each  cake  of 
soap  with  a  printed  wrapper.     For  twenty  wrap- 
pers thus  brought  back,  they  trade  a  ticket  bear- 
ing a  number,  and  this  number  represents  a  share 
or  interest  in  a  distribution  of  presents  at  some 
future  date.    Practically  these  schemes  are  sops 
thrown  to  servant  girls  to  encourage  extravagance 
and  dishonesty.     There  are  wastes  and  peculations 
enough  in  the  kitchen  without  offering  '  presents,' 
'rewards,'   or    'prizes'  iu   this  line.     There  are 


':iMlM«U»'>.->«ttAtw-. 


timw'*  iCMk**»» 


THE  ENEMIES   OF  YOUTII. 


133 


•n  pack- 
ir  horse, 
ad,  that 
J,  which 

ire  told, 
et,  even 
gamhler 
money. 
:,  in  his 
)  induce 
se  of  the 
to  adver- 
)nnectiou 
h  cake  of 
nty  wrap- 
sket  bear- 
its  a  share 
)  at  some 
s  are  sops 
iravagance 
)eculation8 
'  pr<j8ent8,' 
There  are 


enough  supplies  passed  out  to  poor  relations  to 
satisfy  every  housekeeper,  as  it  is,  and  there  is  no 
necessity  for  chromos  or  prizes  in  this  department. 
These  devices  practically  say  to  Biddy,  'The 
more  soap  used,  wasted,  or  otherwise  disposed  of, 
of  this  kind,  the  more  tickets  in  the  distribution.' 
Do  thinking  men  and  women  watit  a  lottery 
started  in  their  kitchen  ? "  There  is  another 
means  of  whipping  the  Devil  around  the  stump, 
resorted  to  very  frequently,  but  still,  under  the 
thin  disguise  of  an  exercise  of  judgment,  I  can 
see  one  of  the  little  horses  waitinf^  for  victims  who 
shall  mount  and  ride.  Some  merchant  with  an 
unsalable  stock  will  put,  perhaps,  a  bottle  of 
beans  in  his  window,  and  give  to  any  one,  who 
buys  a  suit  of  his  clothes  or  a  pound  of  his  tea  or 
coffee,  a  prize,  if  he  guesses  the  right  number  of 
beans.  As  this  affords  very  little  opjiortunity  for 
judgment,  but  is  purely  a  matter  of  guess  work, 
it  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a  disguised  lottery. 
I  only  speak  of  these  various  cheats  to  remind 
you  that  the  cloven  foot  may  lurk  under  very 
innocent  looking  forms,  but  that  the  spirit  of  the 
thing,  from  the  baby's  prize  candy  package  to  the 


134 


DAKOEB  SIGNALS. 


gambling  hell  of  Monaco,  is  always  the  same.  But 
I  have  not,  as  you  know,  simply  my  own  wisdom 
or  experience  to  give  you  in  this  matter.  A  score 
of  Boston  merchants  have  placed  this  evil  high 
up  in  the  list  of  your  enemies.  One  of  them, 
whom  I  well  know,  in  whose  heart  is  a  warm  spot 
for  young  men,  writes:  "Among  the  dangerous 
places  to  be  avoided  is  the  billiard  table.  I  knew 
a  young  man,  some  years  since  doing  business  in 
Boston,  whose  prospects  were  as  briglit  as  those  of 
any  young  man  I  ever  saw,  whose  first  step  in  t'  3 
downward  path  was  billiard  playing.  I  used  to  see 
him  frequently  at  the  door  of  the  billiard  stUoon. 
Soon  he  neglected  his  business,  and  prosperous 
business  soon  left  him,  he  contracted  other  bad 
habits,  failed,  and  died,  a  miserable  wreck,  before 
he  was  forty  years  old.  To  be  avoided  is  the 
smoking  car,  and  p  ving  cards  in  the  cars,  as  well 
as  elsewhere.  No  careful  merchant  would  employ 
a  young  man  who  has  such  habits." 

Says  another :  "  Poker  is  a  fascinating  game 
and  many  a  young  man  quiets  conscience  by  mak- 
ing the  limit  one  cent  or  half  a  dime,  but  the  love 
for  the  game  continues,  uo  matter  how  small  the 


»T  . 


.<»faawta»Mt*MW<w.»»C'iii.'ni  mmmiuwmvmimtttii 


THE  ENEMIES   OF  YOUTH. 


me.    But 
J  wisdom 
A  score 
evil  high 
of  them, 
ravm  spot 
langerous 
I  knew 
usiness  in 
IS  those  of 
itep  in  t^  3 
used  to  see 
rd  saloon, 
prosperous 
other  bad 
eck,  before 
ied  is  the 
ars,  as  well 
old  employ 

iting  game 
ice  by  raak- 
)ut  the  love 
w  small  the 


sk." 


risK.  ■     Another  prominent  merchant  writes  you : 
"  The  desire  for  the  excitement  and  possible  gains 
of  the  gambling  saloon  is  a  very  great  danger, 
and  a  most   painful   personal   experience  with  a 
young  man,  formerly  in  the  employ  of  the  firm  of 
which  I  am  a  member,  prompts  me  to  suggest  a 
temptation  which  I  fear  is  not  appreciated  and 
spoken  against  as  it  should  be.     I  refer  to  the 
almost  universal  pastime  of  card-playing  as  prac- 
ticed in  the  smoking-cars,  both  on  long  and  short 
trains.     As  you  are  aware,  thousands  of  young 
men  use  these  trains  in  coming  to  and  going  from 
the  city  every  day.     The  smoking-car  is  furnished 
with  card-tables,   and  actual  gambling  is  not  an 
unheard-of  experience.    The  young  man  to  whom 
I   have  referred   came   into  our  employ  from   a 
Christian  home,  and  had  our  confidence  in  a  large 
degree.     He  boarded  with  his  parents  seven  miles 
out  of  the  city.    After  a  time  we  noticed  a  change, 
and  later  it  proved  that  he  had  been  stealing,  had 
then  taken  nearly  a  thousand  dollars.     His  own 
explanation  was  that  the  desire  for  gambling  was 
developed  in  the  smoking-car  and  from  that  he 
went  to  the  saloon  and  became  a  thief  that  he 


186 


DAKOER  SIGNALS. 


■,ii 


i 


11 


Hi 


Fi  1 


?'U 


might  indulge  the  passion  which  had  grown  from 
such  small  beginnings." 

Another  of  your  friends  sends  you  this  terse 
message :  "  Gambling,  an  inordinate  desire  to 
be  rich,  lotteries,  pool-rooms,  stocks,  and  other 
speculations,  are  fatal  fascinations.  The  example 
of  a  very  few  successful  speculators  has  lured 
hundreds  of  thousands  to  disgrace  and  ruin." 
Another  large  merchant  for  whom,  very  likely, 
some  of  you  may  work,  writes :  "  I  regard  pool- 
rooms as  most  dangerous  to  the  young,  and  have 
had  to  fight  them  on  account  of  their  influence 
on  young  men,  sf^rae  of  them  mere  boys,  in  ray 
own  employ.  There  is  a  fascination  about  games 
of  chance,  hard  to  account  for  by  those  who  have 
no  taste  for  such  things,  and  their  influence  is 
most  pernicious."  I  will  quote  to  you  the  wise 
words  of  only  one  more  of  your  friends  in  this 
connection.  "  In  these  days  of  money  kings  and 
fabulous  riches,  young  men  become  discontented 
with  the  slow  way  of  getting  a  competence,  and 
their  discontent  often  develops  into  a  mania  for 
lottery  tickets.  I  have  known  young  men,  strug- 
gling in  business,  with  chances  of  success  waiting 


own  from 

this  terse 
desire    to 
and  other 
le  example 
has  lured 
aud  ruin." 
ery  likely, 
Bgard  pool- ' 
g,  and  have 
r  influence 
)oys,  in  my 
ibout  games 
33  who  have 
influence  is 
)U  the  wise 
snds  in  this 
y  kings  and 
iiscontented 
petence,  and 
a  mania  for 
[  men,  strug- 
jcess  waiting 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTU. 


187 


on  close  application,  who  have  become  unsettled 
by  this  feverish  anxiety  for  a  sudden  impetus. 
They  have  lived  on  expectation  from  week  to 
week,  until  '  unsuccessful  in  business,'  is  written 
over  their  doors." 

And  now,  as  plainly  as  I  can,  let  me  place 
before  you  my  special  reasons  for  waving  this 
danger  signal.  In  the  first  place,  to  put  the  mat- 
ter Upon  the  k  vv^est  grounds,  you  are  sure  to  be 
fleeced,  if  you  have  any  dealings  with  the  profes- 
sionp.l  gambler.  The  fly,  stepping  daintily  into 
the  spider's  web,  has  just  as  much  chance  of 
coming  out  unhurt,  as  you  have,  when  you  enter 
the  gambling  den.  The  lamb,  venturing  into  the 
lion's  jungle,  is  as  safe  as  you  are,  when  you  open 
the  door  of  the  pool-room.  The  lion  and  the 
lamb  may  lie  down  peacefully  together,  but,  it  is 
a  very  old  witticism  that  tells  us  which  will 
occupy  the  interior  apartment.  There  is  a  very 
savage  bird  that  is  not  uncommon  hereabout  in 
winter,  called  the  shriek  or  butcher  bird.  It 
pounces  upon  little,  unoffending  members  of  the 
feathered  tribe,  scares  the  canaries  behind  our 
windows,  devours  all  the  victims  it  can,  and  is 


188 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


.1 


said  to  spit  tlio  rest  upon  the  spike  of  some  thorn 
tree.  I  do  not  know  any  bird  of  the  air  that  the 
professional  gambler  so  much  resembles,  as  the 
butcher  bird.  He  dashes  even  into  the  family 
circle,  as  the  shriek  dashes  at  the  glass  to  secure 
the  canary.  Is  it  best  then  for  the  other  birds  to 
enter  his  very  nest,  and  invite  him  to  strike  his 
talons  into  them?  I  do  not  say  that  you  may 
never  win  a  dollar  in  a  pool-room,  or  a  prize  in  a 
lottery.  But  I  do  say,  that  it  is  even  worse  for 
you  if  you  win,  than  if  you  lose.  I  should  pray 
that  if  you  ever  went  into  the  gambler's  den,  you 
might  lose  every  time.  It  is  better  to  lose  a  few 
feathers,  if  that  will  show  you  the  true  nature  of 
your  enemy,  than  to  be  lured  on  until  he  can 
drive  his  claws  into  your  heart. 

An  old  gambler,  wlio  signs  himself  C.  D.  in  the 
Boston  papers,  and  for  whose  identity  the  gamb- 
ling fraternity  of  Boston  have  offered  to  give  one 
thousand  dollars,  says,  virtually,  that  he  has  been 
through  it  all,  has  been  a  recognized  leader  among 
the  gamblers,  and  he  knows  that  there  is  no  honor 
among  this  class  of  thieves.  They  will  not  hesi- 
tate to  swindle  any  one  whom  they  can  swindle 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


189 


le  thorn 
that  the 
,  as  the 
!  family 

0  secure 
hinls  to 
^rikc  his 
row  may 
rize  in  a 
^orse  for 
uld  pray 
den,  you 
030  a  few 
nature  of 

1  he  can 

D.  in  the 
he  gamb- 
>  give  one 
has  been 
ler  among 
I  no  honor 
not  hesi- 
,n  swindle 


safely.  He  says  that  in  each  of  two  pool-rooms 
one  thousand  one  dollar  base-ball  combination 
pt)ol  tickets  are  sold  everi/  day  of  the  base-ball 
season.  Beside  this  the  manager  has  control  ot 
the  telephone  and  solicits  bets  of  two  dollars  and 
fifty  cents  each  on  the  possibility  of  a  score  being 
made  in  each  inning  as  played.  A,  for  instance, 
bets  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  that  no  score  will 
be  made  in  the  first  inning  of  the  Boston  and 
Providence  game.  B  accepts  the  bet,  and  they  de- 
posit five  dollars  in  the  hands  of  the  management, 
who,  for  their  commission  hold  back  fifty  cents. 
Their  profits  from  these  commissions  alone  average 
fifty  or  seventy  five  dollars  per  day.  Moreover, 
having  control  of  the  telephone,  they  can  learu 
before  their  victims  the  results  of  each  inning, 
thus  putting  their  confederates  up  to  bet  always 
on  the  winning  side.  Has  the  fly  any  more  chance 
in  the  spider's  house  than  you  have  in  tjie  gamb- 
ler's house  ?  We  can  form  some  estimate  of  the 
number  of  victims  of  this  evil  when  we  remember 
what  Mr.  Conistock  tells  us,  that  in  one  office  of 
the  Louisiana  lottery  in  New  York  City,  which 
hm  been  advertised  in  many  papers,  calliug  them- 


140 


DANGER   SIGNALS. 


selves  resi-ectablo,  throughout  the  country,  the 
average  receipts  for  twenty  days  prior  to  a  raid 
which  ho  made  upon  them,  were  five  thousand 
one  hundred  and  seventy-six  dollars  per  day  by 
actual  count,  while  tlio  average  daily  orders  and 
letters  received  were  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  fifty.  "  I  saw,  at  one  time,"'  he  says,  "deliv- 
ered to  one  clerk,  from  this  office,  at  tlie  New 
York  post-oflice,  over  five  hundred  and  fifty  reg- 
istered letters.  The  annual  income  of  this  com- 
pany alone,  according  to  their  own  showing  is 
four  million  dollars." 

How  many  little  birds  killed  and  spitted  by  this 
detestable  shriek  do  these  thousands  of  letters  indi- 
cate ?  But  I  would  put  this  matter  upon  higher 
ground.  If  it  was  only  a  matter  of  your  losing 
a  few  dollars  or  a  few  hundred  dollars  it  would 
not  be  worth  while  perhaps  to  take  the  time  to 
utter  this  warning.  But  ah  I  character  is  involved 
in  this  loss.  You  can  win  back  the  money  you 
lose  by  persistent  toil,  or  fortunate  business  invest- 
ments, perhaps,  but  you  cannot  win  back  the 
character  you  lose  so  easily. 

Character  is  a  plant  of  slow  growth,  and  he 


■yjwB»jW!"m^ 


T 


and  he 


THE  ENEMIES  OF   YOUTH. 


141 


who  hacks  at  this  tree  destroys  what  years  cannot 
replace.  Says  the  reformed  gambler,  whom  I 
have  before  quoted:  "Gambling,  being  illegiti- 
mate, and  ostracized  by  society,  ii  only  adopted 
as  a  business  by  men  dead  to  a  moral  sense  of 
right  and  wrong.  A  careful  analysis  of  my  own 
case  and  that  of  my  colleagues  has  confirmed  me 
in  the  belief  that  the  two  chief  components 
which  go  to  make  up  the  profeBsional  gambler  are 
cupidity  and  laziness."  These  also,  I  believe,  are 
the  motives  which  lead  the  foolish  flies  to  venture 
within  the  gambler's  web,  —  cupidity  and  laziness. 
A  desire  to  get  something  for  nothing,  a  desire 
for  an  easy  life,  for  a  soft  cushion,  for  a  sinecure 
office,  for  a  fat  place,  with  little  work  about  it. 
This  is  the  demoralizing  spirit  which  honeycombs 
character,  which  eats  the  pith  out  of  every  manly 
life,  which  fills  the  policy  rooms,  and  lines  the 
pockets  of  the  gambler.  How  many  of  our  young 
men  are  drifting  about  from  place  to  pla  y  look- 
ing for  the  easy  spot ;  dissatisfied  wita  this, 
because  the  work  is  hard,  and  with  that,  because 
the  hours  are  long,  and  with  the  other  place 
because  the  pay  is  small,  unwilling  to  do  their 


w* 


142 


DANGER  SIGKAL8. 


honest  best  because  of  some  fancied  grievance  of 
work  or  pay ;  unwilling  to  do  a  stroke  of  work 
that  they  can  live  without  doing,  always  waiting, 
like  Mr.  Micawber,  for  something  to  turn  up,  that 
shall  furnish  a  snug  berth  and  demand  no  equiva- 
lent of  muscle  or  skill  or  brain.  That  is  the 
gambler's  s  drit,  whether  you  ever  risked  a  cent 
or  handled  a  cue  in  your  life.  That  is  the 
spirit  which  demoralizes  and  degrades,  and  opens 
the  door  at  last  of  every  gambling  hell.  Cupidity 
and  laziness  are  the  two  elements  of  the  gam- 
bler's character.  Sweep  them  away,  and  our 
gambling  dens  would  be  closed  to-morrow. 
Beware  of  tliem  both.  They  are  soul  poisoners. 
Whenever  you  are  tempted  to  wish  for  money 
without  wurkinjr  for  it,  think  of  the  story  of 
Midas.  That  was  just  what  he  desired,  you 
know,  tnd  the  gods  granted  his  request,  and 
everything  that  he  touched  turned  into  gold.  But 
he  found  this  exceedingly  inconvenient,  for  even 
his  food  turned  into  the  bright,  yellow  metal,  and 
he  could  not  eat  it.  Miilis,  moreover,  had  the 
ears  of  an  ass  given  him  by  the  gods.  He  con- 
trived to  conceal  them  under  his  Phrygian  cap  for 


'M  *'"->i.^H-'^i..' 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


143 


3vance  of 
of  work 
1  waiting, 
I  up,  that 
.0  equiva- 
at  is  the 
ed  a  cent 
at  is   the 
ind  opens 
Cupidity 
the  gam- 
and  our 
;o-morrow. 
poisoners. 
For  money 
3  story  of 
sired,   you 
^uest,   and 
gold.     But 
t,  for  even 
metal,  and 
3r,  had  the 
1.     He  con- 
;ian  cap  for 


a  time,  but  the  servant  who  cut  his  hair  discovered 
them.  The  secret  so  much  troubled  him,  for  he 
could  confide  it  to  no  human  being,  that  he  dug  a 
hole  in  the  ground  and  whispered  into  it,  "  King 
Midas  has  ass's  ears."  He  then  filled  up  the  hole 
and  felt  relieved,  for  he  thought  the  secret  was 
buried.  But  on  the  same  spot  a  reed  grew  which, 
as  it  waved  in  the  wind,  whispered  his  secret, 
"  King  Midas  has  ass's  ears,"  and  so  betrayed  him 
again.  Look  close  enough  and  you  will  find  that 
all  chose  who  seek  for  money  without  working  for 
it  have  the  same  deformity.  Scan  the  crowds  in 
the  gambling  den.  They  are  all  alike  in  this 
respect.  They  all  have  ass's  ears.  No  Plirygian 
cap  can  conceal  them.  Their  laziness,  too,  is  as 
great  as  their  cupidity.  "The  down-right  lazy 
man,"  says  Geikie,  "  is  commonly  as  mean  as  he  is 
shiftless,  willing  to  take  without  giving  any  equiv- 
alent ;  if  he  must  work  he  does  as  little  as  posb^"- 
ble ;  he  talks  longer  about  doing,  than  it  takes 
others  to  act.  His  life  might  be  spent  in  the 
circumlocution  office,  for  it  is  a  long-  study  of 
'  how  not  to  do  it.'  As  Gibbon  puts  it,  '  He  well 
remembers,  he  has  a  salary  to  receive  and  only 


-^^''^''t^fflB^r"" 


II 


i  i 


J    ' 


i«i 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


forgets  that  he  has  a  duty  to  perform.' "  "  In 
the  way  of  writing,"  says  Carlyle,  "no  great  thing 
was  ever  or  will  ever  be  done  with  ease,  but  with 
difficulty.  Is  it  with  ease  that  a  man  shall  do  hit 
best  in  any  shape  ?  Not  so.  Goethe  tells  us  he 
'  had  nothing  sent  him  in  his  sleep,  no  page  of  his 
but  he  know  well  where  it  came  from.'  " 

Would  that  I  could  impress  upon  you,  my 
young  friends,  this  one  truth :  "  Good  things 
always  cost.!'  For  if,  in  all  the  fullness  of  its 
meaning,  this  one  thing  could  be  made  plain, 
no  one  of  you  would  ever  darken  the  door  of  a 
gambling  saloon  again.  "  Good  things  always  cost." 
I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  money  was  never  won 
at  a  roulette  table  or  from  a  faro  bank  or  a  lottery 
wheel.  It  has  been  thus  won,  but  money  thus 
won  was  never  a  good  thing.  I  do  not  mean  to 
pay  that  politicjil  honor  was  never  bestowed  where 
it  was  not  deserved  or  earned.  It  has  been  thus 
bestowed,  but  such  honor  was  never  a  good  thing. 
"  Great  men  are  hard-working  men,"  it  has  been 
well  said.  "Genius  means  a  great  capacity  for 
work.  Genius  will  work.  The  m§n  eminent  iu 
all  the  noble  walks  of  life  have  been,  and  are  now, 


'   I  ; 


'I 


1.'"  "In 
reat  thing 
but  with 
ball  do  hia 
3II8  us  he 
)age  of  his 

L  you,  my 
od    things 
less  of  its 
lade   plain, 
door  of  a 
ways  cost." 
never  won 
Df  a  lottery 
Qoney  thus 
3t  mean  to 
Dwed  where 
8  been  thus 
good  thing, 
it  has  been 
japacity  for 
eminent  in 
ind  are  now, 


THE  ENEMiaS  OF  YOUTH. 


145 


great  workers.  They  are  trained  to  endure,  and, 
when  occasion  requires,  can,  and  do,  labor  tremen- 
dously. Are  you  dazzled  by  the  lives  of  generals, 
senators,  millionaires,  or  great  men  of  letters? 
Consider  the  cross,^  ere  looking  at  the  crown.  It 
is  a  grand  thing  to  win  the  crown.  Try  for  it. 
Try  with  all  the  manhood  there  is  in  you.  You 
are  worth  little  if  you  do  not  make  the  trial.  Let 
no  word  of  mine  discourage  you.  But  try  no 
short  cuts.  Count  the  cost  and  then  do  valiant 
battle.  Determine  to  win  all  these  good  things  but 
win  them  legitimately."  This  weakening  of  the 
moral  fibre  resulting  from  cupidity  and  laziness, 
fostered  by  the  gambling  den,  works  out  its  legit- 
imate results  in  defalcation,  forgery,  embezzle- 
ment. The  papers  are  full  of  stories  of  dreadful 
falls  from  high  places.  Our  ears  are  stunned  and 
our  hearts  grow  sick,  but  it  is  the  gambling  spirit 
of  the  age  that  will  account  for  every  one  of  them. 
"Pool-rooms  are  the  most  demoralizing  of  all 
kinds  of  gambliAg,"  says  the  old  gamester  I  have 
already  quoted.  "The  defalcations,  the  direct 
cause  of  pool  gambling,  are  usually  first  offences, 
and  are  condoned  without  publicity,  but  justice 
7 


mj^j.n' j».ii|»www» 


I  f 


146 


DANOBB  SIGNALS. 


overtakes  the  thief  at  last.  Every  pool  gambler 
knows  his  victims,  and  in  the  slang  of  the  trade 
says,  '  So  and  so  will  come  a  "  header  "  for  "  dip- 
ping "  too  often  in  the  well.'  I  know  a  case  in 
point.  There  was  a  young  fellow  in  one  of  our 
large  crockery  houses  whose  fall  was  predicted  in 
a  pool-room  two  weeks  before  it  occurred"  I 
have  in  my  possession  the  account  of  scores,  who, 
in  the  expressive  language  of  the  gambler,  have 
come  just  such  headers  from  decency,  respectabil- 
ity and  honor,  to  shame  and  degradation  and  ever- 
lasting contempt.  And  what  is  the  meaning  of 
that  large  American  colony  in  Canada  except  that 
its  members  gambled  too*  long  in  wheat  or  flour 
or  bank  stocks  or  mining  shares,  until  at  last  the 
long  embezzlement  came  to  light,  and  they  had 
to  flee  their  country,  leaving  only  a  dishonored 
name  behind. 

Am  I  writing  to  any  one  who  has  taken  the 
first  step  on  this  road,  who  has  begun  with  penny 
ante,  or  taken  a  ten  cent  play  in  a  policy  shop,  or 
a  single  dollar  combination  in  a  base-ball  pool? 
Let  me  say  io  you,  most  solemnly,  that,  at  the  end 
of  this  road  is  the  county  jail  or  the  state's  prison, 


^'%. 


V 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


147 


!)1  gambler 
'  the  trade 
"  for  «  dip- 
w  a  case  ia 
one  of  our 
redicted  in 
jurred  "     I 
jcores,  who, 
mbler,  have 
respectabil- 
)n  and  ever- 
meaning  of 
except  that 
sat  or  floiir 
1  at  last  the 
nd  they  had 
k  dishonored 

IS  taken  the 
1  with  penny 
)licy  shop,  or 
je-ball  pool? 
it,  at  the  end 
state's  prison, 


with  grated  windows  and  bolted  doors.  At  the 
end  is  sorrow  and  shame  and  a  blasted  life.  The 
road  which  you  have  begun  to  travel  is  strewn 
with  the  carcasses  of  men  who  are  dead  while 
they  live,  dead  to  everything  that  is  good,  to  their 
families,  their  homes,  their  loves,  their  hopes. 
This  road  is  worn  smooth  by  the  feet  of  forgers, 
defaulters,  and  thieves.  Let  me  put  up  a  sign- 
board which  all  may  read  as  they  come  in  their 
life's  journey  to  this  by-path  which  leads  to  the 
gambling  den. 

On  this  sign-board  shall  be  printed  in  large 
letters, 


THE  DEVIL'S  PRIVATE  WAY, 

DANGEROUS  PASSING. 

Whoever  takes  this  s-oad,  does  so  at  j 
his  own  risk. 


.:i^|f^,^i«a!tAiA«a^vs:WM■.Trtv^-«f^^.|lW■-l^^prtlMa^t 


!    i! 


1:1' 


M 


CHAPTER  Vm. 

the  lbpeb  op  impuritt. 

The  Dbeadkd  Lepbb  of  Ancient  Times.  The  more 
Loathsome  Leper  of  Modern  Times.  What  the 
Merchants  Think  of  Him.  Insanity  or  Suicide. 
The  Three  Doors  by  which  this  Lbpeb  Enters 
the  Heart.  Imagination-Door.  Dr.  Holland's 
Words  '  op  Wisdom.  Eye-Door  and  EAB-Dooa  A 
Word  to  Younq  Women.  Keep  Safe  the  Jewel. 
Balls  and  Skating  Rinks.  A  Dancing-Master's 
Opinion.  Out-Door  Sports.  The  Unspeakable 
Turk.    The  Leper's  End. 

In  some  respects  the  subject  which  forms  the 
caption  of  this  chapter  is  the  most  difficult  of  all 
to  treat.  It  is  seldom  alluded  to  in  public,  the 
literature  of  the  subject  is  very  scanty,  and  every 
writer  hesitates  to  speak  of  that  of  which,  never- 
theless, his  conscience  tells  him  he  ought  to  speak, 
when  writing  upon  such  a  subject  as  the  Enemies 
of  Youth. 

Of  all  the  diseases  that  afflicted  the  ancient 
world  leprosy  was  the  most  dreadful  and  the  most 
148 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


149 


),  The  mors 
i.  What  thk 
r  OB  Suicide. 
jtpss  Enters 

IB.     HotXAND'S 

Eab-Doob.  a 
'E  THE  Jewel. 

[CINQ-MASTER'S 

Unspeakable 

jh  forms  the 
lifficult  of  all 
^n  public,  the 
ty,  and  every 
which,  never- 
light  to  speak, 
I  the  Enemies 

i  the  ancient 
.  and  the  most 


dreaded.     The  leper  was  loathed  and  driven  out 
from  all  companionship,  except  with  those  who 
were  diseased  like  himself.    If  he  ever  entered 
the  synagogue  he  was  railed  in  from  the  rest  of 
the  congregation  and  must  enter  before  and  depart 
after  the  rest  of  the  worshipers.     As  the  disease 
increased  in  violence  he  was  more  and  more  iso- 
lated.   When  he  approached  a  fellow  creature  the 
law  obliged  him  to  throw  dust  in  the  air,  to  cover 
his    mouth  with  his  hand,   and    cry  "  unclean, 
unclean."    The  utmost  care  was  taken  to  detect 
the  presence  of  the  disease,  for  its  approach  was 
insidious ;  and  washings  and  cleansings  and  exam- 
inations, minute  and  well-nigh  innumerable,  were 
required.     If  the  Jew  found  that   his  nearest 
friend,  his  brother,  his  wife,  his  child,  was  a  leper, 
he  had  to  leave  him  to  his  lonely  life  of  separation 
and  death.     The  disease   began   its   work  very 
slowly,  it  might  exist  for  months  and  hardly  be 
known,  a  slight  discoloration,  a  little  scab,  was  all 
that  was  noticed,  but,  by  and  by,  it  spread  with 
terrible  rapidity,  and  resulted  at  last  in  the  com- 
plete corruption  and  dropping  away  of  a  hand 
or  foot  or  arm,  until  at  last  death  came  to  the 
slow  relief  of  the  sufferer. 


'\\ 


!  ''  '• 

1  t!  I 


i:  I 


.  i; 


li  \ 


150 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


Do  j'ou  wonder  that  the  Jews  feared  the  leper  ? 
Do  you  wonder  that  strict  laws  prevented  the 
spread  of  the  contagion  ?  Leprosy,  the  physical 
disease  in  its  most  dreaded  forms,  has  been  about 
stamped  out  of  the  modern  world,  but  there  is  a 
moral  leprosy  which  is  more  loathsome  and  more 
deadly,  which  walks  our  streets  and  enters  our 
homes,  alasl  which  creeps  into  our  hearts.  In- 
stead of  being  afraid  of  it,  we  laugh  at  it,  we  treat 
it  as  a  joke,  we  invite  the  leper  to  our  firesides. 
He  is  found  everywhere.  He  dwells  in  the  brown- 
stone  mansion,  and  in  the  filthy  cellar.  He 
sleeps  on  a  bed  of  down  sometimes,  and  sometimes 
on  a  heap  of  rags.  He  walks  our  streets,  he  rides 
in  our  horse-cars.  He  goes  to  school  with  our 
boys  and  girls,  and  his  contact  is  as  contagious 
and  deadly  as  the  leper  of  Judea.  It  is  not  at 
hap-hazard  that  I  call  this  evil  spirit  of  impurity 
a  leper.  If  I  were  able  I  should  not  dare  to  lift 
the  veil  which  hides  this  leper  from  the  gaze  of 
men.  If  some  omniscient  being  should  go  up  and 
down  these  streets,  sprinkling  with  blood  the  doors 
where  this  leper  had  entered,  what  thresholds 
would  be  bloodless  here  ? 


\  : 


''■  ^j_ 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


151 


the  leper  ? 
irented  the 
he  physical 
been  about 
1  there  is  a 
5  and  more 
enters  our 
liearts.    In- 
it,  we  treat 
ur  firesides. 
1  the  brown* 
cellar.      He 
i  sometimes 
ets,  he  rides 
ol  with  our 
s  contagious 
[t  is  not  at 
of  impurity 
dare  to  lift 
the  gaze  of 
Id  go  up  and 
jod  the  doors 
,t  thresholds 


I  have  received  concerning  this  evil  of  sensual- 
ity many  warnings  from  your  friends,  the  business 
men,  young  people,  which  I  am  glad  to  give  you 

right  here. 

One  of  them  writes :  "  If  you  ask  what  I  think 
is  the  most  dangerous  or  seductive  influence,  in 
city  life  especially,  1  should  say  licentiousness." 

Another  one  rehearses  the  story,  only  one 
among  ten  thousand  it  is  sad  to  think,  of  a  young 
man  with  bright  hopes  who  was  first  led  away  by 
the  lustful  attractions  of  promiscuous  balls,  until 
he  fell  to  the  depths  of  infamy,  and  adds:  "  The 
superintendent  of  one  -of  our  large  railways  in 
Massachusetts  told  me  that  for  no  one  cause  did 
he  so  quickly  discharge  an  employe  as  for  being 
seen  with  disreputable  women  ;  for,  looking  at  it 
from  the  business,  railroad-man's  standpoint, 
merely,  such  connection  surely  leads  to  extrava- 
gance and  defalcation." 

Another,  who  is  always  on  the  lookout  for  some 
chance  to  help  the  boys  and  girls  of  Boston,  writes : 
"You  put  'rum'  first  in  your  list  of  'enemies,' 
and  I  have  always  done  so  in  my  thinking.  But 
I  fear  there  is  another  evil,  which  lurks  more  in 


■/■i^a*MBtovaa^iig^i^agta»';Sa»fct.  .irtiwafeiiWia*'' 


"■Pr.'.f  i^j.'  A'H'-"*'     ,fw— ^'.'* 


152 


DANGER   SIGNALS. 


the  dark,  and  which  is  working  nearly  as  much 
destruction.  I  refer  to  licentiousness.  I  helieve 
it  is  on  the  increase.  Our  young  men  and  women 
are  not  warned  as  they  should  be,  it  is  such  a  deli- 
cate matter  to  speak  about." 

Another  writes  these  strong  words:  "Islu.iild 
say  that  the  most  dangerous  and  seductive  of  all 
evils  is  licentiousness,  tlio  damning  sin,  the  first 
poison  of  the  race,  starting  in  the  garden,  and, 
with  crushing  force,  descending  from  generation 
to  generation,  until,  today,  its  eflPect  is  felt  in 
every  homo.  It  is  sending  more  young  men  to 
ruin  than  all  other  influences  combined.  It  is  not 
so  open  as  intemperance  and  there  is  its  danger, 
but  if  you  look  for  it  you  will  see  its  marks  in  the 
pale  clieek  and  wan  features  of  our  boys  and  girls 
in  our  homes.  Its  very  secrecy  is  its  danger.  Its 
victims  are  filling  premature  graves,  or,  what  is 
worse,  our  houses  for  the  insane.  I  believe  I  am 
justified  in  saying  that  thousands  of  new-made 
graves  are  dug  yearly  to  take  in  the  young  vic- 
tims of  this  cursed  vice  whose  cause  of  death  is 
unsuspected.  Oh,  for  some  power  to  show  to  the 
young  the  deadly  poison  of  this  growing  vice ! " 


/ 


THE  ENEMIES  OP  YOUTH. 


168 


Says  another  of  your  friends,  speaking  of  this 
same  evil :  "  This  vice  not  only  ruins  the  natural 
body,  but  impairs  the  spiritual  also.  We  can 
form  no  conception  of  its  extent  for  H  is  known 
only  to  the  victim  and  Him  who  knows  all  things. 
I  speak  very  stronglj'  on  this  point,  for  an  inci- 
dent comes  to  my  mind  of  a  young  man  of  Boston 
who  took  his  life  by  shooting  himself  some  thirty 
years  ago.  Ho  was  supposed  to  be  of  unblemished 
character,  and  probably  his  relatives  and  friends 
knew  nothing  to  the  contrary,  but  I  was  on  the 
jury  of  inquest  and  a  letter  was  found  on  his 
person  saying  that  one  of  two  things  was  before 
him  —  insanity  or  suicide,  therefore  he  chose  the 
latter,  as  the  vice  he  had  contracted  was  too 
Btrong  for  him  to  conquer.  No  one  can  tell  what 
he  must  have  passed  through  before  he  committed 
the  deed.  The  contents  of  that  letter  have  never 
been  effaced  from  my  memory."  I  can  say 
"amen"  with  all  my  heart  to  thia  friend's  closing 
words:  "'Would  that  every  young  person,  aduicted 
to  this  evil,  could  be  warned  of  the  results  of  such 
debasing  vice." 

T  will  quote  from  only  one  more  of  the  scores  of 
7« 


^ 


I  »»-'B  »n  .1    .  r  >  ■.  ^1^'t  '-.■.','■■'  ''■'■*   'V  >,".;"  T*^?^'"'  "^t" 


154 


DANOEB  SIGNALS. 


letters  wliich  refer  to  this  leper  of  impurity.  Says 
this  gentleman :  "  My  observation  leads  me  to 
fear  chiefly  the  impure  literature  of  the  day  and 
the  impure  companion,  who  teach  the  practices 
that  sap  the  young  life  at  its  first  springing.  I 
tell  my  boys,  '  If  you  will  promise  your  father  and 
see  to  it  that  your  mouth  and  hand  are  kept  pure 
until  you  are  twenty-one,  I  will  promise  you 
health,  happiness,  and  usefulness,  and  all  the  good 
things  you  will  then  care  to  ask  for.'  "  Here  are 
some  good  rules  which  he  adds:  "Let  the  boy 
read  no  book  and  look  at  no  picture  he  would  not 
show  his  mother  or  sister.  Let  him  drink  nothing 
which  ho  would  not  ask  his  mother  to  sweeten. 
Instead  of  the  low  theater,  the  skating  rink,  and 
ball-room,  let  him  organize  a  home  orchestra,  in 
which  sister  shall  play  the  piano,  brother  the 
volin,  and  himself  the  flute,  while  baby  disarranges 
the  mu';ic  for  them  all.     In  this  way  is  safety." 

But  I  hardly  need  to  multiply  these  warnings 
for  you  are  all  aware  that  such  a  leper  as  I  have  de- 
scribed is  abroad  in  the  land.  I  need  not  make  that 
point  any  plainer.  Alas !  he  is  too  well  known  to 
some  of  you.    But  if  I  cau  but  tell  you  of  some  of 


""'<ftii'^'iiifiTSikA'^'Hif''-"irfciiii"- 


iVrTifritf-hgii-i^/ift^fclrt'iM 


THE  ENEMIES  OP   YOUTH. 


.m- 


the  doors  by  which  he  will  enter  your  hearts,  and 
thus  put  you  on  your  guard,  I  should  be  doing 
you  a  real  service.  If  any  one  could  have  warned 
the  Jewish  youth  of  old  of  the  leper  in  the  way, 
giving  him  sorao  infallible  rule  by  which  he  might 
tell  of  his  approach,  that  secret  would  have 
been  of  value  incalculable  to  him.  If  one  could 
have  said  to  him,  "Look  outl  there,  there,  through 
that  door,  by  that  alley-way,  you  will  come  in 
contact  with  the  leper,"  how  he  would  have 
blocked  up  and  guarded  that  door  or  pathway, 
lest  there  he  should  contract  the  terrible  contagion. 
If  I  can  tell  you  of  the  three  doors  by  which  this 
leper,  Impurity,  will  be  most  likely  to  enter  your 
heart,  will,  you  not  block  them  up  against  his 
entrance  and  forever  guard  them  well?  These 
three  doors  are  Imagination-door,  Eye-door,  and 
Ear-door.  Guard  these  three  entrances  to  your 
soul,  and  the  enemy  can  never  take  its  citadel. 

Of  all  these  doors,  I  think  Imagination-door 
most  often  admits  the  Leper  of  Impurity.  No 
one  on  earth  sees  this  leper  when  he  knocks  at 
the  door  of  the  imagination,  no  one  on  earth 
notices  when  it  is  opened,  a  crack  at  first  and  then 


DANQEU  SIGi^AXS. 


flung  wide  open  to  the  unclean  guest,  but  the 
devils  in  hell  exult,  for  they  know  that  he  who 
opens  the  door  of  his  heart  to  such  a  guest  is  fast 
on  the  \Tay  to  join  their  ranks.  Let  us  give  heed, 
just  hero,  to  the  words  of  Dr.  J.  G.  Holland,  they 
are  so  true  and  appropriate  to  this  subject. 

"Oh,  if  this  imaginary  world  of  sin  could  be 
unveiled,"  he  says,  "this  world  into  which  the 
multitude  go  unknown  and  unsuspected,  how 
would  it  be  red  with  the  blush  of  shame  1  This 
world  of  se^se,  built  by  the  imagination,  how  fair 
and  foul  it  is  I  Like  a  fairy  island  in  the  sea  of 
life  it  smiles  in  sunlight  and  sleeps  in  green, 
known  of  the  world,  not  by  communion  of  knowl- 
edge but  by  personal,  secret  discovery!  The 
waves  of  every  ocean  kiss  its  feet.  The  airs  of 
every  clime  play  among  its  trees  and  tire  with  the 
voluptuous  music  which  they  bear.  Flowers  bend 
idly  to  the  fall  of  fountains,  and  beautiful  forms 
are  wreathing  their  white  arms  and  calling  for 
companionship.  Out  toward  this  charmed  isk  nd 
by  day  and  by  night  a  million  shallops  push,  un- 
seen of  each  other  and  of  the  world  of  real  life 
they  leave  behind.    The  single  sailors  never  meet 


THE  EITEMIES   OF  YOUTH, 


167 


each  other,  they  thread  the  same  paths  unknown 
to  each  other;  they  come  back  and  no  one  asks 
them  where  they  have  been.  If  God's  light  could 
shine  upon  this  crowded  sea  and  discover  the 
secrets  of  the  island  which  it  invests,  what  shame- 
ful retreats  and  encounters  should  we  witness. 
Fathers,  mothers,  maidens,  men,  —  children  even, 
whom  we  have  deemed  as  pure  as  snow,  —  flying 
with  guilty  eyes  and  white  lips  to  hide  themselves 
from  a  great  disgrace.  There  is  vice  enough  in 
the  world  of  actual  life  and  it  is  there  that  we 
look  for  it ;  but  there  is  more  in  that  other  world 
of  imagination  which  we  do  not  see,  —  vice  that 
poisons,  vice  that  kills,  vice  that  makes  whited 
sepulchers  of  temples  that  are  deemed  pure,  even 
by  multitudes  of  their  tenants." 

Beware  of  Imagination-door  which  this  leper 
so  often  uses  to  make  his  entrance  into  your  soul. 
Lock  up  Eye-door  and  Ear-door  also.  I  have  tried 
to  put  you  on  your  guard  in  other  chapters  against 
bad  papers,  pictures,  books,  and  evil  companions, 
with  their  dirty  story  and  smutty  joke,  but,  boys 
and  girls,  you  must  lock  these  doora  from  the 
imide.    When  the  burglar  comes  to  your  house  by 


1r,3f««J'?ST-:'s<r',»ra;<S"?l''- 


158 


DANOEB  SIGNALS, 


night,  it  makes  very  little  ditference  how  many 
bars  and  bolts  there  are  on  the  outside  ;  if  there 
is  no  bolt  on  the  inside,  he  can  withdraw  thom 
all  and  walk  in  at  his  pleasure  and  roh  the 
house.  All  that  one  can  do  by  words  of  warning, 
all  that  your  parents  and  teachers  can  do  by  their 
loving  advice,  is  to  lock  the  door  from  the  outside ; 
it  remains  for  you  to  turn  the  key  and  drop  the 
bolt  of  a  firm,  resolute,  pure  purpose,  which  shall 
keep  out  all  these  demons  from  the  pit.  I  often 
think,  almost  with  a  shudder,  of  the  boy  who  goes 
out  from  his  father's  house  into  the  impurity  of 
the  street  and  the  school.  He  has  been  most  care- 
fully reared,  every  evil  thing  has  been  kept  beyond 
his  reach,  he  has  been  loved  and  guarded  and 
prayed  for,  but  j'-et  one  half  hour  with  the  bad 
companion,  one  glance  at  the  lewd  picture,  and  the 
careful  training  of  years  is  forgotten,  and  the 
leper,  entering  tlirough  Eye-door  or  Ear-door,  has 
taken  up  his  abode  in  that  pure  young  soul  and 
only  too  ready  to  open  the  door  over  and  over 
again  to  his  loathsome  companions,  until,  at  last, 
little  is  left  but  corruption  and  death  in  that 
heart  which  left  the  father's  house  white  and 
unsullied. 


^Uatmllm  I  mi  ni  nl  11  i»i  I 


' 

-  ; 

lany 
here 
hom 

the 

• 

their 

dde; 

)  the 
shall 

)ften 

goes 

tyof 
care- 

yond 
and 

bad 

dthe 

the 

,  has 

nd  i                        1 

THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


169 


Young  friends,  God  has  put  your  manhood,  wo- 
manhood, and  purity,  in  your  own  keeping.  You 
can  barter  them  away  for  smut,  you  can  soil  them 
with  an  indelible  staia  if  you  will,  or  you  can  pre- 
serve them  unsullied,  as  your  best  heritage  and  chief 
glory.  Your  friends  cannot  preserve  them  for  you, 
they  can  only  give  advice  ;  your  pastor  can  only 
warn  you.  You,  yourself,  must  lock  the  door,  if 
you  would  keep  your  enemies  out.  Upon  you 
alone  will  it  depend  whether  you  rise  to  the 
company  of  angels  or  sink  to  the  level  of  the 
devils.  I  wish  that  I  might  say  an  earnest  word, 
right  hei'e,  to  the  ^irls  and  young  women  who  shall 
read  this  chapteu  This  subject  concerns  you 
more  vitally,  perhaps,  than  any  one  class. 

If  you  had  one  jewel  among  your  possessions 
that  was  worth  a  thousand  times  more  than  all  the 
rest  of  your  treasures  put  together,  would  you  be 
careless  of  that  jewel  ?  Would  you  leave  it  lying 
about  ill  a  public  place  for  every  chance  passer- 
by to  pick  up  and  make  off  with  if  ho  chose? 
Would  you  see  how  near  you  could  come  to  drop- 
ping it  into  some  dark  cess-pool  without  actually 
letting  it  fall?     Would  you  carelessly  throw  it 


ii'iiiii 


ijl-*""??'*?!'?' 


il 


DANOBn  SIGNALS. 

away  from  you  some  dark  night,  on  the  chance 
that  you  could  find  it  again  in  the  morning?  You 
have  such  a  jewel,  a  treasure  that  is  worth  to  you 
a  thousand  Kohinoors,  and  yet  I  see  some  of  you 
trifling  with  it,  as  though  it  was  a  worthless  pebble, 
which  you  might  retain  or  throw  away  at  your 
pleasure.  Your  personal  purity,  unsullied,  immac- 
ulate, unsuspected,  —  that  is  your  jewel.  You  are 
playing  with  it,  holding  it  very  near  the  edge  of  the 
moral  cess-pool,  throwing  it  away,  perhaps,  for  a 
little,  thinking  you  can  pick  it  up  at  your  pleasure. 
Oh  1  let  me  tell  you  how  priceless  is  your  treasure, 
let  me  warn  you  of  the  awful  risk  you  run. 

The  snow  once  sullied  can  never  be  whitened, 
the  lily  once  crushed  and  withered  can  never  be 
restored  to  what  it  was,  the  maiden  soul  once 
befouled  can  never  regain  its  freshness  of  purity. 
To  my  sorrow  and  shame  I  see  some  young  girls 
whose  only  thought  seems  to  be  of  the  young  men. 
On  the  street,  in  the  horse-cars,  in  the  Sunday- 
school,  in  the  prayer-meeting,  they  are  never  happy 
unless  they  are  whispering  and  making  eyes  at 
some  young  man.  They  are  the  laughing-stock  of 
the  thoughtless,  and    they  make  the   judicious 


Iwiatltoiiiii  iitiiirf  I  lilii  rimii 


THE  ENEMIES  OP  YOUTH. 


161 


le  chance 
ig?  You 
th  to  you 
ae  of  you 
!ss  pebble, 
T  at  your 
1(1,  immac- 
You  are 
ige  of  the 
laps,  for  a 
•  pleasure, 
'treasure, 
in. 
whitened, 

never  be 
30ul  once 
of  purity, 
lung  girls 
mng  men. 
e  Sunday- 
ver  happy 
g  eyes  at 
g-stock  of 

judicious 


grieve,  and  yet  they  never  seem  to  suspect  their 
folly  or  see  themselves  as  others  see  them.  Every 
social  gathering,  every  meeting  of  prayer,  every 
promenade  on  the  street,  every  visit  to  the  public 
library,  is  only  an  excuse  for  continued  flirtation ; 
the  mind  becomes  unstrung  and  is  filled  with  light 
ard  trifling  fancies,  the  imagination  is  perverted, 
and  the  will  is  weakened  for  any  useful  efibrt. 
Books  lose  their  relish,  housework  becomes  an 
unbearable  drudgery,  and  the  image  of  that  young 
man  is  seen  on  the  page  of  every  book,  sewn  into 
the  garment  with  every  uneven  stitch,  and  is 
worked  into  every  slovenly  piece  of  housework 
which  the  giddy  girl  ia  obliged  to  do.  I  am  not 
speaking  now  of  true  love,  for  which  this  frivolous 
passion  which  borders  on  the  indelicate  is  often 
mistaken.  There  is  as  much  difference  between 
true  lovers  and  mere  flirts,  as  there  is  between  the 
quiet,  steady,  cheerful  fire  on  the  family  hearth- 
stone, and  the  changeable,  deceptive  flicker  which 
glows  on  the  rotten  stump  in  the  woods  at  night. 
True  love  is  holy  and  is  one  of  the  handmaidens 
of  God.  The  mere  flirt,  male  or  female,  is  the 
servant  of  Satan.    If  you  could  know,  young 


«f 


^1 


(! 


I! 


162 


DANGER  SIQNALS. 


ladies,  what  these  same  young  men,  whom  you 
believe  are  so  devoted  to  you,  really  think  oC  the 
forward,  bold,  young  woman,  your  cheeks  would 
glow  with  shame  whenever  your  eyes  met  theirs. 
They  are  bright  enough  to  understand  that  the 
apple  that  drops  too  easily  into  their  hand  most 
likely  has  a  rotten  spot  at  the  heart.  If  you  could 
hear  their  jokes  and  innuendoes,  and  flings  at  your 
womanhood ;  if  you  could  hear  them  talk  about 
their  "  rock  maidens,"  and  their  "  piazza  beauties," 
and  their  "  bliggy  girls,"  you  would  never  run  the 
risk  again  of  being  called  by  those  names,  —  that 
is  if  you  have  a  spark  of  womanhood  left,  as  I 
believe  you  all  have. 

But  do  you  say,  "  I  mean  nothing  bad.  I  am 
only  bound  to  have  a  good  time,  to  enjoy  myself  I 
I  shall  look  out  to  stop  in  season,  before  I  am 
ruined"  ?  Perhaps  you  will,  and  oh  I  perhaps  you 
may  not  stop  before  you  are  ruined  and  driven  an 
outcast  from  home  and  friends.  But  it  is  not  ou 
this  low  plain  of  possible  final  escape  from  the 
worse  consequences  that  I  would  put  this  subject. 
Your  treasure  is  too  precious  to  be  trifled  with. 
Your  jewel  is  too  priceless  to  be  risked.    It  is  not 


MB 


THE  ENEMIES  OP  YOUTH. 


168 


best  to  set  fire  to  your  house,  because  it  may  be 
put  out  before  the  house  is  burned  to  the  ground. 
It  is  not  wise  to  fall  into  deep  water  because  you 
may  be  dragged  out  before  life  is  quite  extinct. 
Let  me  say  again,  your  treasure  is  too  precious 
to  be  trifled  with.  Your  jewel  is  too  priceless 
to  be  risked.  It  is  beciuse  personal  purity  ia 
your  jewel  that  I  thus  plead  with  you  to  run  no 
risk.  He  who  leaves  open  a  safe  filled  with  rub- 
bish id  not  particularly  to  be  blamed.  He  who 
leaves  open  the  safe  that  contains  a  million  dollars 
in  securities,  is  guilty  of  carelessness  which  is 
almost  as  criminal  as  dishonesty. 

Let  me  tell  you  this,  too,  young  ladies,  you  are 
not  only  injuring  yourselves,  you  are  bringing 
reproach  upon  all  womanhood  when  you  thus 
cheapen  and  trifle  with  the  charms  of  a  pure 
maidenhood.  For  nineteen  centuries  past,  Chris- 
tianity has  had  it  for  her  task  to  raise  womanhood 
out  of  the  gutter  of  sensuality  and  bestiality 
where  it  so  long  lay  helpless.-  Patiently,  quietly, 
faithfully,  has  Christianity  wrought,  and  right  well 
has  she  succeeded,  until  woman  sits  upon  the 
throne,  with  the  sparkling  crown  of  purity  encir- 


^n"" 


164 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


.    I 


cling  her  brow.  Will  you  do  your  little  best  to 
pull  her  from  that  proud  position,  and  snatch  away 
her  crown? 

Every  one  who  has  ever  known  the  influence  of 
a  pure,  gentle,  loving  woman,  be  she  mother  or 
wife  or  sister  or  friend,  can  sing  with  Tennyson  in 
the  Princess : 

"  Happy  he 
With  Buoh  a  mother!  faith  in  womankind 
Beats  with  liis  blood,  and  trust  in  all  things  high 
Comes  easy'  to  him,  and  tho'  ho  trips  and  falls, 
Ho  shall  not  blind  his  soul  with  clay." 

"Will  any  of  you  help  to  destroy  this  faith  in 
womankind  ?  Will  you  not  rather  show  us  what 
Wordsworth  calls, 

"  A  perfect  woman,  nobly  planned, 
To  warn,  to  comfort  and  commi.od.'* 

"  Show  us  how  divine  a  thing 
A  woman  may  be  made." 

But  I  can  hear  some  of  you  say.  Are  you  not 
going  to  give  us  your  opinion  on  balls,  dances, 
skating-rinks,  and  such  amusements  ?  I  have  not 
been  ready  to  do  so  before  but  I  think  the  way  is 


THE  ENEMIES  OP  YOUTH. 


165 


best  to 
baway 

snce  of 
iher  or 
jTSon  ia 


aith  in 
IS  what 


you  not 
dances, 
lave  not 
3  way  is 


open  now.  I  have  no  quarrel  with  the  ball-room 
in  itself.  I  do  not  know  that  it  is  any  more  sinful 
in  itself  to  skip  lightly  about  to  the  sound  of 
music,  than  to  walk  gravely  and  sedately,  without 
any  music  to  hujry  the  feet.  I  have  no  prejudiiJe 
against  roller  skating  in  itself  considered,  but  I 
have  an  undying  and  unconquerable  prejudice  to 
anything  and  everything  which  will  endanger  the 
purity  of  young  manhood  and  womanhood.  I 
have  an  undying  hatred  of  any  place  or  any 
amusement  which  tends  to  soil  the  white  lily  of 
maidenly  modesty,  and  this,  from  all  that  I  know, 
promiscuous  dancing  and  promiscuous  skating  in 
the  public  rink  does  tend  to  accomplish. 

The  men  to  whom  I  have  written  send  many 
warnings  against  the  ball-room  and  the  skating- 
rink,  and  seud  many  sad  stories  of  ruined  lives, 
which  received  their  first  impetus  on  the  down 
hill  road  in  such  places.  I  have  not  time  to  quote 
these  wise  words,  but,  as  in  a  previous  chapter  the 
testimony  of  an  ex-professidrial  gambler  against 
gambling  was  brought  forward,  let  me  here  quote 
the  testimony  of  a  dancing-master  againsL  the 
waltz. 


166 


DANGER  RIONAL8. 


Mr.  James  P.  Welsh,  who,  for  ten  years,  was  a 
dancing-master,  has  said  in  public  print :  "  I  have 
no  hesitation  in  saying  tliat  I  attribute  much  of 
the  vice  and  immorality  now  proviiiliiig  to  the 
insidious  influence  of  tiie  waltz.  I  tell  you  that 
in  the  high  circles,  young  ladic-  ;it  paitios  and 
balls  are  absolutely  hugged,  —  'erabrac  «i"  would 
be  too  weak  to  express  my  meaning. — by  men 
who  were  altogether  unknown  to  theui  before  the 
music  for  the  waltz  began  to  inspire  the  toes  of 
the  dancers.  Is  this  a  pleasant  siglit  to  contem- 
plate ?  "  Mrs.  General  Sherman,  who  has  written  a 
book  against  waltzing,  takes  the  grountl  tljut  it  is 
immodest,  that  it  detracts  from  the  purity  of  the 
young  ladies  engaged  in  it,  and  that  it  is  demoral- 
izing in  the  extreme.  I  venture  to  say  that  if  it 
were  not  for  what  this  dancing-master  calls  "  the 
hugging,"  the  ball-room  would  lose  its  chief 
attraction.  Is  it  worth  while  to  risk  the  purity  of 
manhood  or  womanhood,  for  a  little  temporary 
excitement  on  the  waxed  floor  of.  the  ball-room  ? 
It  is  not  as  though  there  were  no  other  pleasures 
accessible  to  the  young  than  those  found  in  the 
ball-room  and  the  skating-rink.     The  purest  joys 


^;fe::' 


1_J 


tm 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


167 


are  those  that  we  experience  when  we  get  nearest 
to  nature.  Find  your  arauseinenta  out  doors,  boys 
and  girls,  and  not  in  the  close  and  dusty  halls  of 
pleasure.  Use  every  holiday  for  a  trip  into  the 
country,  if  you  can.  See  how  many  things  God 
has  provided  to  make  you  glad,  and  do  not  get 
the  idea  that  the  only  possible  amusements  are  in 
these  stuffy  halls  and  rinks. 

There  is  a  thousand  tunes  more  music  in  the 
song  of  the  birds,  and  the  ripple  of  the  brooks, 
than  there  is  in  the  fiddle  of  the  ball-room.  There 
is  vastly  more  health,  wealth,  and  wisdom,  for  the 
genuine  soul,  with  the  blue  sky  for  the  curtain 
and  the  light  and  shade  on  forest  and  river 
for  shifting  scenery,  than  there  is  in  the  frescoed 
theater  with  painted  trees  and  rivers  and  skies  for 
scenery.  I  would  rather  walk  ten  miles  into  the 
country  for  a  couple  of  hours  in  the  silent  woods, 
than  go  across  the  street  to  eoe  a  score  of  people 
skip  up  and  down  a  slippery  floor.  I  should  like 
to  have  all  my  boys,  yes,  and  girls  too,  learn  to 
fish,  shoot,  row,  swim,  play  base-bull,  and  skate  in 
winter,  (I  have  no  great  opinion  of  skating  in 
summer  time,)  so  that  they  may  grow  strong  and 


1!   ' 


Se: 


168 


DANQKR  SIGNALS. 


brave  and  sound  of  lu^art;  and  limb,  but  I  have  no 
dcsiro  to  have  tbem  spend  much  time  or  money  to 
Icaru  the  false  graces  and  poor  acconiplishmeiits 
of  •  'iC  dancing-master.  Every  season  has  its  out- 
door sports  and  joys,  eviMi  city  boys  can  have 
their  share  of  them.  Learn  to  love  them,  and  my 
word  for  it,  a  purer,  nobler,  stronger  manhood 
and  womanhood  will  be  yours. 

Not  only  are  individuals  in  danger  but  our 
nation  is.  threatened  witli  this  leprosy.  The  awful 
evils  of  sensuality  and  impurity  arc  shown  on 
a  large  scale  in  the  degeneracy  and  imbecility 
of  the  modern  Turk.  No  race  has  suffered 
so  much  from  licentiousness,  says  u  writer  in  the 
Saturday  Jlevietv,  quoted  by  a  recent  American 
author:  " That  the  conquerors  of  Constantinople 
were  a  haniy  raoe  of  great  physical  orength 
there  can  be  do  doubt  ;  that  the  great  'iiajor'^j 
of  modern  Turks  are  of  an  effemiua'e  j\-:_m  i-» 
equally  certain ;  very  many  of  them  j.'o  jei  .us 
of  fine  appearance,  but  they  ar^  phy> icily  wos.!;. 
without  elasticity,  giving  the  ai^^^aj^ntc-  ^  «'  .a 
who  have  lost  their  vitality.  The  ssliu-  may 
be    said,    even    more    emphaticady,  of   Turkij«li 


THE  ENEMIES   OF  YOUTH. 


169 


1  have  no 
:  money  to 
plishments  • 
lias  its  oiit- 
I  can  havf 
<.m,  and  my 
c  manhood 

er  but  our 
The  awful 
shown  on 
I  imbecility 
las    suffered 
Titer  in  the 
it  Auiorican 
nstantiuoplo 
cal    :  orength 
•eat  ruajor'^7 
aa'a   'jy *,><.'   i'* 

•  ic.-ily  vov.i;. 

e    sjaui     may 
,  of    Turkx-li 


women;  they  are  small  in  stature,  of  a  sickly 
complexion,  easily  fatigued  by  exertion,  and 
become  prematurely  old.  After  the  ago  of  forty 
all  feminine  beauty  is  gone;  the  ryes  have  become 
sunken,  the  cheek*  hollow,  and  tlie  face  wrinkled. 
Another  immediate  result  of  the  prevailing  sensu- 
ality is  the  mental  imbecility  of  multitudes  of  the 
Ottoman  Turks ;  great  numbers  among  them  are 
intellect  iially  stupid.  Many  even  of  the  young 
men  have  the  vacant  look  which  borders  close  on 
the  idiotic  state.  This  is  not  owing  so  much  to  a 
lack  of  education  as  to  a  mental  incapacity  wliich 
often  amounts  to  real  imbe(  ility."  Such  an  account 
of  a  whole  nation  weakened  and  unnerved  by  sen- 
suality is  terribly  suggestive.  The  "  unspeakable 
Turk  "  is  an  awful  warning.  In  the  "sick  man  of 
Europe  "  there  is  a  lesson  for  the  young  men  of 
America. 

Let  me  tell  you  of  the  leper's  end.  "  His  dis- 
ease began  with  little  specks  on  the  eye-lids,  and 
on  the  palms  of  the  hand,"  says  one  authority, 
"and  gradually  spread  over  different  parts  of  the 
body,  bleaching  the  hair  white,  wherever  it 
blKJwed  itself,  crusting  the,  affected  parts  with 
8 


■■■•  "fc^^t 


■■ 


11  r 


170 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


ghining  scales  and  causing  swellings  and  sores. 
From  the  skin  it  slowly  ate  its  way  through  the 
tissues  to  the  bones  and  joints  and  even  to  the 
marrow,  rotting  the  whole  body  piecemeal.  The 
lungs,  the  organs  of  speech  and  hearing,  and  tlie 
eyes,  were  attacked  in  turn,  till,  at  last,  consump- 
tion or  dropsy  brought  welcome  death." 

It  almost  seems  while  reading  this  awful  ac- 
count of  wasting  disease,  as  though  I  were  de- 
scribing the  living  death  of  the  moral  leper,  the 
sensual  man.  His  disease  begins  with  a  littlo 
spot,  a  little  impure  thought,  a  little  dalliance  in 
imagination  with  unholy  things,  but  the  end,  oh, 
the  dreadful  end ! 

From  the  outside  this  moral  disease,  too,  slowly 
eats  its  way  through  the  tissues  even  to  the  mar- 
row of  the  soul,  rotting  away  the  whole  moral 
nature,  piecemeal.  The  affections,  the  will-power, 
all  the  organs  of  right-thinking  and  riglit-acting 
iire  attacked  in  turn,  till  at  last  tlie  first  death,  the 
death  of  the  body,  brought  on  by  lust  and  passion, 
ushers  in  the  second  death,  the  death  of  the  soul. 
We  know  not  what  lies  beyond  the  death  of  the 
bv)dy,  but  we  do  know  that  there  shall  in  no  wise 


mSfJm. 


and  sores, 
irough  the 
ven  to  the 
leal.  The 
ig,  and  the 
t,  consump- 

i  awful  ac- 
I  were  de- 
1  leper,  the 
ith  a  little 
dalliance  in 
the  end,  oh, 

,  too,  slowly 

to  the  mar- 

vhole  moral 

I  will-power, 
riglit-acting 
3t  death,  the 
and  passion, 
.  of  the  soul, 
leath  of  the 

II  in  no  wise 


rr.-^'um  ii_fj[.m":>!\i%wiK<i^,im.''^ffm'$\mi--'^^i)>»:u^  f^i-!>wviiiw»;j'*.ii4,.it'»jiii¥Vi.W:»Hi4yj--8'L^''.^9!i 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


171 


enter  into  the  heavenly  city  "  anything  that  defil- 
eth,  neither  whatsoever  worketh  abomination  or 
maketh  a  lie,"  and  we  also  know  that  "  without 
are  dogs  and  sorcerers  and  whoremongers  and 
murderers  and  idolaters  and  whosoever  loveth  and 
maketh  a  lie." 


•■i' 


r 


CHAPTER  IX. 

SAPPERS    AND    MINERS    OF    CHARACTEB! 
.        FRIYOLITY,  SELFISHNESS,  DISHONESTY. 

At    PETEB8B0RQ      IN     1864.       THE    ENEMIES     THAT     WOEK 
UNDEBGBOUND  AND  IN  THE  DABK.      FRIVOLITY.      TUE 

•        Wbong    Names  it  Assumes.     The   Laughteb   of 
Fools.    Pobtbait  of  the  Fbivolocs  Young  Man 
AND  Woman.    A  Business  Man's  View.    Selfish- 
ness.    Cultivate  the   Generous    Natube.     The 
MOTH  Milleb  ofChabacteb.    Thomas  Canfield. 
Dishonesty.     More    Warnings    fbom    the    Mer- 
chants.   Honest  George  Washington  and  Honest 
Abraham  Lincoln.    A  Last  Whisper  in  the  Ears 
of  the  Boys  and  Girls. 
About  day-break  on  the  thirtieth  of  July,  1864, 
a  tremendous  explosion  was  heard  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Petersburg,  Virginia  ;  a  huge  fort  was 
blown  into  the  air,  carrying  with  it  its  whole  gar- 
rison—a South  Carolina  regiment,  and,  where^  a 
moment  before  the  fort  had  been  in  all  its  grim 
defiance,  was  seen  nothing  but  a  great  pit  with 
ragged  edges,  two  hundred  feet  long  and  thirty 
172 


mt.ii^iaiMiti>/ii..ij 


B>g!ivvi'-y^''apgwi'Mayvf  !■"?''*'''?«■■  ^■y^^iag75y'.-:'^-^J?B^yw^''y?*!"?*^ 


THE  ENEMIES  OP  YOUTH. 


173 


ACTEB: 

E8TY. 

THAT     WOEK 

voLiTY.  Tub 
aughtkb  of 
Young  Man 
tw.  Sklfisii- 
&.TUKK.  Tub 
LS  Canfield. 

I      TUB     MEB- 

AND  Honest 

IN  THE    EABS 

'.  July,  1864, 
1  the  neigli- 
iige  fort  was 
;8  whole  gar- 
md,  where  a 
all  its  grim 
■eat  pit  with 
g  and  thirty 


feet  deep.  That  awful  piece  of  destruction  was 
the  work  of  the  sappers  and  miners.  That  hole 
beneath  the  fort  had  been  dug  a  little  at  a  time ; 
one  shovelful  after  another  had  been  removed. 

For  many  days  and  nights  before,  Union  troops 
had  been  at  work  digging  away  noiselessly  but 
rapidly  beneath  that  fort,  the  garrison  above  never 
suspecting  what  they  were  about.  Eight  thou- 
sand pounds  of  powder  were  placed  in  this  hole 
and  then  all  that  was  left  to  do  was  to  apply  the 
fuse,  and  fort  and  garrison  and  munitions  of  war 
were  blown  into  the  air. 

I  think  there  are  some  enemies  iu  your  way 
that  seek  to  undermine  your  character  just  as 
these  sappers  undermined  the  fort  at  Petersburg. 
In  the  preceding  chapters  I  have  endeavored  to 
point  out  tc  ihe  young  people  some  of  their  ene- 
mies who  were  waiting  at  every  corner  to  give 
them  battle  and  capture  them,  body  and  soul,  if 
possible.  But  most  of  these  enemies  of  which  I 
have  spoken  have  been  visible  and  open  enemies. 
The  rum-shop  stares  at  you  every  time  you  go 
down  street,  and  the  bright  light  which  shines 
from  the  window  at  night  is  like  a  warning  bea- 


IH 


DANGER   BIGNAL8. 


con  to  tell  you  of  the  rocks  and  whirlpools  which 
await  every  one  who  comes  too  near.  The  bad 
paper  is  flaunted  in  all  our  shop  windows,  while 
the  bill  of  the  low  theater,  on  every  dead  wall,  tells 
you,  in  letters  six  feet  long,  what  to  expect  if  you 
are  so  foolish  as  to  enter  that  spider's  trap. 

But  here  is  another  class  of  enemies  who  work 
underground  and  in  the  dark ;  they  never  show 
their  horns  and  hoofs,  but  before  the  poor,  thought- 
less boy  or  girl  knows  it,  the  mine  is  dug,  the  train 
is  laid,  the  character  is  honeycombed,  and  all  the 
Arch-enemy  has  to  do  is  to  apply  the  spark  of 
some  terrible  temptation,  and  another  life  is  for- 
ever ruined  and  another  home  disgraced.  We 
hear  nothing  luit  the  explosion,  but  the  silent 
preparations  for  the  explosion  may  have  been 
going  on  for  years.  We  see  the  hopes  and  fond 
expectations  of  a  generation  flying  into  the  air, 
like  the  di'bris  of  the  ruined  fort  on  that  summer 
morning  in  18G4,  but  we  do  not  see  how,  little  by 
little,  like  rust  spots  eating  away  at  the  polished 
Bteel,  the  preparation  for  that  destruction  of  hopes 
and  joys  and  life  plans  has  been  going  on. 

We  are  terribly  allocked  by  the  news  of  the 


W|!Wli4W|PMir 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


175 


ools  which 
The  bad 
ows,  while 
[  wall,  tells 
pect  if  you 
rap. 

,  who  work 
lever  show 
)r,  thought- 
g,  the  traia 
aud  all  the 
\G  spark  of 
life  is  for- 
aced.      We 
;  the  silent 
have   been 
es  and  fond 
into  the  air, 
hat  summer 
)W,  little  by 
the  polished 
ion  of  hopes 
;oo. 
news  of  the 


defalcation  when  it  gets  into  the  paper.  But  the 
defalcation  is  nothing  but  the  explosion.  The  boy 
began  to  dig  the  mine  for  that  explosion  when  he 
cheated  in  marbles  and  stole  cookies  from  his 
mother's  pantry.  When  the  young  woman  is  dis- 
graced and  driven  out  of  respectable  society  that 
is  the  explosion,  but  the  girl  began  to  dig  the  mine 
years  ago,  when  she  flirted  with  the  boy  in  the 
Sunday-school  class  on  the  other  side  of  the  aisle, 
or  allowed  some  little  familiarity  from  a  man  who 
was  neither  father  nor  brother.  There  are  many  of 
these  sappex-3  and  miners  who  are  constantly  at 
work  trying  to  find  the  easiest  way  into  the  very 
citadel  of  your  cliaracters,  boys  and  girls,  but  I 
can  mention  only  three  of  them  here.  And 
these  three  shall  be  Frivolity,  Selfishness,  and  i>t«- 
honesty.  If  all  the  trouble  they  make  you  was  the 
trouble  they  seem  to  work  today  that  would  be 
bad  enough.  No  one  likes  a  frivolous,  thought- 
less, light-headed  young  person,  a  selfish  girl  or  a 
boy  whom  he  cannot  trust.  If  that  was  all  thes'? 
enemies  of  yours  did,  rendering  you  disagreeable 
and  unpleasant  to  others  for  the  time  being,  it 
would  be  enough,  but  oh,  thhik  of  the  future! 


I^MM 


DANGEIc   SIGNALS. 


V;-  .■.. 


They  are  not  only  injuring  you  now,  but  they  are 
preparing  the  way  for  an  awful  explosion  one  of 
these  days,  in  which  manhood  and  womanhood, 
home  and  friends,  prospects  and  hopes,  will  all  be 
involved.  Let  us  take  a  look  at  these  under- 
ground enemies  of  yours  one  by  one  ;  if  possible 
unearth  them  and  discover  what  they  are  about. 

First,  Frivolity.  I  mention  this  sapper  of  char- 
acter first  because  he  does  far  more  harm  than  is 
generally  supposed.  He  tries  to  borrow  the 
clothes  of  some  one  else,  and  palls  himself  Gay- 
ety.  Happiness,  Light-heartedness.  But  these  are 
not  his  true  names.  Gaj'ety  is  a  very  different 
personage.  Pleasure  and  Frivolity  do  not  long 
keep  company,  and  Frivolity  instead  of  being 
light-hearted  often  carries  a  very  heavy  heart.  In 
telling  you  to  beware  of  Frivolity  I  would  not 
take  away  a  single  real  enjoyment  out  of  your 
lives.  God  has  put  you  in  a  beautiful  world  and 
He  meant  to  have  you  enjoy  it.  Every  green  shoot 
that  thrusts  its  head  above  the  soil,  every  bright- 
hued  flower,  every  sweet-voiced  bird,  tells  us  how 
many  things  God  has  provided  to  make  us  glad. 
When  you  feel  the  life  coursing  through  your 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


m 


thej'  are 
on  one  of 
manhood, 
V'ill  all  be 
ise  imder- 
f  possible 
J  about. 
ir  of  char- 
m  than  ia 
rrow    the 
iself  Gay- 

these  are 
'  different 

not   long 

of  being 
heart.  In 
would  not 
it  of  your 
world  and 
rreen  shoot 
ery  bright- 
jlls  us  how 
e  us  glad, 
ough   your 


veins  so  that  you  cannot  help  running  and  shout- 
ing and  laughing,  why  run  and  shout  and  laugh, 
if  it  is  the  proper  time  and  place.  I  like  to  see 
girls  play  with  their  dolls  and  their  hoops,  and 
boys  fly  their  kites  and  kick  foot-ball  and  jump 
leap-frog,  and  have  right  merry  times.  This  is  not 
what  I  mean  by  Frivolity,  the  sapper  and  miner 
of  character.  There  is  always  a  taint  of  evil 
about  the  fun  he  brings.  There  is  usually  some- 
thing low  and  smutty  and  tainted  about  his  so- 
called  pleasure.  There  is  often  a  smile  on  his  face 
and  a  laugh  in  his  voice,  to  be  sure,  but  it  is  hol- 
low, insincere  sort  of  merriment. 

"  The  laughter  of  the  fool,"  says  Solomon,  "  is 
as  the  crackling  of  thorns  under  a  pot."  I  think 
he  had  the  grin  and  the  hollow  laugh  of  the  frivo- 
lous man  in  mind  when  he  wrote  that  verse.  We 
all  know  young  men  whose  lives  are  all  honey- 
combed with  this  evil.  No  one  puts  any  confidence 
in  them.  If  one  had  an  important  place  to  fill  he 
would  not  think  of  looking  to  them  to  fill  it,  simply 
because  their  lives  give  the  impression  of  being  so 
frivolous.  Let  me  say  to  you  all,  very  seriously, 
life  is  not  a  huge  joke,  by  any  means.  It  is  not  all 
8* 


■f^ 


178 


DANOEn  SIGNALS. 


one  long  holiday.  There  are  some  holidays  in  it, 
and  many  days  of  quiet,  health-giving  recreation, 
but  life  is  no  joke.  Life  means  hard,  serious  work 
of  hand  or  brain.  It  means  ten  hours  a  day  over 
the  ledger,  or  ten  hours  a  day  at  the  forge,  or  at 
the  carpenter',  bench,  or  it  means  five  hours  in 
the  school-room  and  two  or  three  more  of  hard 
study  at  home,  or  it  means  drudgery  in  the  kitchen 
or  over  the  wash-tub  ;  and,  if  you  make  up  your 
mind,  as  the  frivolous  person  seems  to  do,  that  life 
is  a  sort  of  huge  Barnum's  circus,  where-  you  must 
play  the  part  of  clown,  and  wear  the  cap  and  bells, 
you  will  find  out  before  long  that  you  are  dread- 
fully mistaken,  ard  that  you  are  being  left  away 
behind  in  the  race. 

I  think  I  can  draw  the  picture  of  the  frivolous 
young  person.  If  it  is  a  yomg  man,  he  never 
sticks  long  to  any  one  thing.  He  gets  tired  of 
this  and  that  and  the  other  because  there  is  too 
much  work  about  it.  He  is  always  looking  for  the 
easy  place,  with  little  work  and  large  pay.  That 
is  the  fool's  paradise.  He  gets  half  an  education, 
but  studying  is  hard  work  and  he  soon  leaves 
school  for  business.     He  secures  a  good  place 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


179 


lya  in  it, 
jcreatiou, 
OU8  work 
day  over 
[•ge,  or  at 
hours  in 
•e  of  hard 
le  kitchen 
e  up  your 
0,  that  life 
).  you  must 
,  and  bells, 
are  dread- 
left  away 

e  frivolous 
,,  he  never 
its  tired  of 
;here  is  too 
king  for  the 
pay.    That 
I  education, 
soon  leaves 
good  place 


before  he  is  well  known,  but  very  soon  loses  it 
because  it  is  found  that  he  cares  more  for  his  own 
amusement  than  his  employer's  interests.  He  is 
very  often  seen  hi  the  ranks  of  the  sidewalk  bri- 
gade, who  have  such  a  laborious  time  holding  up 
the  lamp-post  on  the  street  corner  of  a  summer  ev- 
ennig.  If  he  ever  goes  to  church  he  is  apt  to  come 
in  on  Sunday  evenhig  about  fifteen  minutes  before 
the  service  is  through,  for  the  sake  of  ogling  the 
girls  or  going  home  with  them  afterward.  But  he 
is  more  likely  to  stay  outside,  for  the  purpose  of 
pufl&ng  cheap  cigar  smoke  into  the  faces  of  the 
people  when  they  come  out,  or  of  making  ungal- 
lant  remarks  about  the  young  ladies  of  the  audi- 
ence. If  he  happens  to  be  rich  he  is  very  likely 
to  be  a  dandy  and  to  carry  his  arms  bent  out, 
while  he  sucks  an  ivor}'-headed  cane,  and  apes  the 
English  fool. 

If  the  frivolous  young  person  is  of  the  other 
sex,  she  pats  all  sorts  of  tawdry  finery  upon  her 
back,  where  it  will  make  the  most  show  possible, 
like  the  merchant  who  puts  all  his  best  goods  in 
the  show  case,  and  has  no  stock  in  trade  behind. 
She  is  always  on  the  lookout  for  the  frivolous 


DAKOEB  SIGNALS. 


young  man.  She  understands  all  about  handker- 
chief and  glove  flirtation,  and  is  an  adept  in  all 
those  arts  which  lie  on  the  debatable  border -land 
between  innocence  and  virtue.  As  was  said  before, 
the  sappers  and  miners  in  warfare  dig  underground 
for  the  sake  of  undermining  something  at  a  dis- 
tance. They  start  their  tunnel  a  thousand  yards 
away,  perhaps,  from  the  fort  they  wish  to  blow  up. 
So  this  sapper,  Frivolity,  begins  with  something 
which  seems  very  innocent,  but  ends  with  some- 
thing very  different,  for  the  end  thereof  is  death. 

To  show  you  that  I  am  not  alone  in  ray  esti- 
mate of  this  enemy  of  yours  let  me  give  you  the 
message  which  one  of  the  gentlemen  to  whom  I 
wrote  in  your  behalf  has  sent  yoi; :  "  Perhaps  one 
of  the  most  common,  and,  in  its  beginning,  seem- 
ingly the  most  innocent  enemy  of  youth,  is  frivol- 
ity. By  this  I  don't  mean  cheerfulness,  vivacity, 
the  love  of  a  good  story  or  a  good  joke.  I  pity 
the  young  person  who  is  habitually  gloomy  and 
fails  to  enjoy  innocent  amusement,  but  I  refer  to 
the  habit,  so  common  among  many,  of  thinking 
and  speaking  lightly  on  serious  subjects.  Once 
commence    the    habit    of   thinking  or  speaking 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


181 


handker- 
pt  in  all 
rder-land 
id  before, 
ergroiiiid 
at  a  dia- 
ixid  yards 
(  blow  up. 
5ome  thing 
ith  some- 
is  death. 
ft  my  esti- 
re  you  the 
o  whom  I 
erhaps  one 
tiing,  seem- 
b,  is  frivol- 
s,  vivacity, 
ke.    I  pity 
;loomy  and 
it  I  refer  to 
of  thinking 
ects.     Once 
Di  speaking 


I 


lightly  of  temperance,  virtue,  duty  to  others, 
reverence  for  God,  and  the  course  is  entered  upon 
that  leads  to  acts  corresponding  with  the  thoughts 
and  words."  ^      ''   — 

Let  us  thi\»k  for  a  moment  of  some  of  the  sins 
to  whiih  habitual  frivolity  is  almost  sure  to  lead. 
I  never  saw  the  boy,  wlio,  the  first  time  he  ever 
tried  to  swear,  uttered  a  loud-sounding  oath.  It 
was  a  little,  timid,  half-and-half  sort  of  an  oath 
that  he  began  with,  and  back  of  that  was  some 
trifling  jest  about  serious  things.  He  begins  with 
some  poor  witticism  about  religious  matters,  but 
he  ends  with  the  shocking  oath  which  is  uttered 
almost  unconsciously,  and  by  that  time  the  charac- 
ter is  pretty  well  honeycombed  with  irreverence 
and  profanity. 

Or  take  the  sin  of  Sabbath  breaking  for  in- 
stance. Very  few  boys  go  sailing  or  horse  rac- 
ing or  to  a  base-ball  match  at  first  on  Sunday. 
They  begin  by  thinking  lightly  of  God's  day,  by 
giving  up  habits  of  church-going  on  every  frivo- 
lous pretext,  by  trying  to  make  themselves  believe 
that  the  fourth  commandment  has  very  little  to 
do  with  them,  but  this  frivolous  view  of  the 


J 


¥•'  ! 


V 


*I^a^?*''iS-^'•Si>*■.^l«^Mt(»si■«*h^^4'iik*i*^«;'.^:*Vi*v;*^^ 


r 


,,--,.i._  *4v«A•«'B»R-.;-fW^^-*gst*aii'a*'^s•a-»^sa5  5a«^^ 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-S) 


1.0 


IIM 


I.I 


1^ 

|50     

!!  m 


2.2 


2.0 


1.8 


Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


1.25      1.4 

1^ 

■« 6"     

► 

■O^ 


\ 


iV 


\\ 


"^h 


V 


^  V.  "^^ 


'^.> 


23  WIEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


^^ 


<\ 


6^ 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHIVI/ICIVIH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductlons  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiquas 


■•■--'«**!r,.».a<«WSBKS£Sf".ia?«i£ 


i»s»nCSlSJ»323SS.iJiSrSl  '■:  .1s>».'  |f*3Eiv.Tlfa**3*ltirs\kV*,. !  .»i-!Sa.-> 


182 


DANGEil  SIGNALS. 


Sabbath  and  God's  house  does  not  end  here. 
"  Young  men  are  not  aware,"  writes  one  of  your 
friends,  "how  much  a  steady  observance  of  the 
Sabbath  and  attendance  on  public  worship  estab- 
lish their  character  and  prospects  of  success  in 
this  life,  to  say  nothing  of  their  eternal  hopes."  I 
know  a  case  where  a  father  with  his  son  applied 
to  the  president  of  a  bank  for  a  vacant  position 
for  that  son.  The  president  was  not  a  Christian 
but  a  shrewd,  business  man  of  the  world.  After 
inquiring  about  the  young  man's  education  and 
acquirements,  he  said  to  the  father:  "One  thing 
more,  is  he  in  the  habit  of  attending  church 
regularly?  I  do  not  care  where  he  attends,  but 
we  cannot  employ  any  one  who  is  not  regularly  an 
attendant  on  church.  Any  young  man  who  is 
known  to  be  an  habitual  Sabbath-breaker  stands 
a  sorry  chance  to  obtain  a  good  position  or  to 
retain  it  after  his  habits  are  known." 

I  might  give  you  a  score  of  such  warnings  from 
the  business  men  of  Boston,  but  I  feel  that  I  am  not 
going  to  the  root  of  things  until  I  begin  further 
back  and  warn  you,  not  only  of  profanity  and 
Sabbath-breaking,  but  of  that  habit  of  mind  from 


"iiJJUJJ.I  I   llJjf'WISWW 


««fi«lj»^j.|yi|uina!),%iJ'»' ,[ 


THE  ENBMIB8  OP  YOUTH. 


188 


which  they  spring,  of  that  light  and  frivolous  way 
of  living  which  regards  life  as  nothing  but  a  show 
or  holiday,  out  of  which  you  must  get  only  the 
greatest  possible  amount  of  fun.  When  you  have 
become  habitually  profane  or  habitual  Sabbath- 
breakers,  the  tunnel  has  been  dug,  the  fortress  has 
been  undermined,  and  the  explosion  only  awaits 
the  spark  of  temptation.  But  if  I  can  lead  yoi? 
to  kaow  that 

"  Life  is  real,  life  is  earnest" ; 
if  I  can  lead  you  to  realize  that  muscle  and  brain 
and  heart  and  a  steadfast  purpose  and  a  soul  given 
to  God  are  the  winning  factors  in  life's  battle ;  if 
I  could  show  you  that  a  laugh  at  serious  things 
and  a  sneer  at  religion,  and  dalliance  with  tempta- 
tion, tell  of  a  shallow  brain  as  well  as  a  tainted 
heart,  I  would  be  doing  you  a  service  for  which  I 
should  thank  God  as  long  as  I  live. 

Another  of  the  sappers  ar.  1  miners  of  which  I 
would  warn  you  is  Selfishness.  One  gentleman 
well  known  in  business  circles,  writes  these  wise 
words  on  the  subject : 

"Perhaps  Selfishness  must  rank  among  the 
greatest  enemies  of  youth.    The  desire  to  get  and 


n 


HHH 


184 


DANQEB  SIGNALS. 


not  give  is  one  of  our  constant  foes.    One  of  the 
roost  important  results  of  the  church  system  of 
weekly  offeungs  for  charitable  purposes  is  the 
early  training  of  children  to  habitual,  systematic, 
and  intelligent  giving.     A  gentleman  who  was 
solicited  to  contribute  to  a  worthy  object  gave 
promptly  but  rather  sparingly.    When  afterward 
shown  the  need  of  a  larger  contribution  he  pleas- 
antly responded  with  the  desired  addition,  accom- 
panied with  the  remark,  'I  was  never  in  a  condi- 
tion to  give  much  until  lately,  and  I  find  that  one 
requires  education  in  giving  as  much  as  in  every- 
thing else.'    I  have  often  been  called  upon  to 
raise  money  for  benevohnt  objects,"  continues  this 
gentleman,  "and  it  has  been  painfully  interesting 
to  observe  the  disposition  of  the  majority  of  peo- 
ple either  to  avoid  giving,  or  to  give  as   little 
as  decency  or  conscience  will  allow.    My  life's 
observation  leads  me  to  the  conviction ^that  no 
man  succeeds  so  well  in  life  as  he  who  tries  to 
li;ve  his  neighbor  as  himself." 

I  have  noticed  that  this  sapper,  Selfishness, 
begins  way  back  in  babyhood  to  undermine  the 
ckiracter.     When  the  little  girl  begins  to  play 


ine  of  the 
system  of 
les  is  the 
yrstematic, 
who  was 
aject  gave 
afterward 
[X  he  pleas- 
ton,  accom- 
in  a  condi- 
id  that  one 
as  in  every- 
id  upon  to 
ntinues  this 
r  interesting 
rity  of  peo- 
ive  as  little 
.    My  life's 
tion  that  no 
who  tries  to 

,  Selfishness, 
ttdermine  the 
jgins  to  play 


.  , 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


186 


with  her  dolls  he  tells  her  to  keep  the  best  doll 
for  herself  and  give  her  playmate  the  homely  rag- 
baby  ;  when  the  little  boy  begins  to  build  his  first 
block  house  he  tells  him  to  use  the  best  blocks 
and  give  his  companions  the  poorest.  Before  the 
baby  has  discarded  her  pinafores  this  evil  spirit  is 
always  whispering  to  her*to  look  out  for  number 
one;  to  take  the  biggest  lump  of  sugar  and  incest 
piece  of  cake  and  the  handsomest  plaything  and 
every  time  she  does  this  she  is  allowing  her  great 
enemy  to  dig  the  trench  under  the  citadel  of  her 
life,  called  character,  a  little  longer  and  deeper. 

Perhaps  some  little  boys  and  girls  may  read  this 
chapter.  In  order  to  make  this  matter  very  plain 
even  to  them,  let  me  change  the  figure.  Some- 
times, when  I  am  calling  on  your  fathers  and  moth- 
ers, I  see  a  harmless-looking  little  insect,  with 
white  wings,  flying  about  the  room.  Nothing 
could  look  more  innocent  and  unoffending  than 
that  little  white-winged  miller.  But  I  notice  that 
all  the  family  are  very  anxious  to  kill  it.  Your 
mother  tries  to  capture  it,  and  if  she  fails  then 
youv  father  claps  his  hands  at  it,  and  then  uncle 
John  takes  his  turn,  and  then  you  try  for  it  your- 


186 


DANGER  SIGNAL?. 


m 


self,  until,  perhaps,  every  one  in  the  room  has 
taken  his  turn.  If  that  little,  fluttering  moth 
was  a  mad  dog  you  could  n't  seem  much  more 
anxious  to  put  it  out  of  the  way,  for  you  know 
that,  though  it  looks  so  harmless,  yet,  if  it  gets 
into  the  carpets  and  woolen  clothes,  it  will  riddle 
them  all  through  with  tiny  holes,  and  spoil  them 
for  next  winter's  use.  Now  this  sin  of  selfishness 
of  which  I  am  warning  you  is  very  much  like 
those  moth  millers.  It  is  flying  around  in  all  our 
homes.  It  lights  here  and  there  and  everywhere, 
sometimes  upon  the  father  and  mother,  sometimes 
upon  the  older  brother  and  sister,  sometimes  even 
upon'  the  baby's  cradle.  It  makes  no  noise.  It 
flits  about  as  silently  as  the  moth-miller  and 
often  looks  just  as  innocent,  but  it  does  a  thousand 
times  more  harm.  It  would  be  better  for  you  to 
find  all  your  winter  clothes  in  the  fall  full  of  moth- 
holes  than  to  find  your  characters  when  you  grow 
up,  full  of  the  holes  of  selfishness. 

Whenever  you  see  one  of  these  sins  fluttering 
about  your  hearts  kill  it,  kill  it,  give  it  no  quarter. 
After  all  though  there  are  so  many  selfish  people 
in  the  world  and  the  air  is  so  thick  with  these 


''i|tWiW'-^'tt'Jn.,!«l'WM»jt''liUftWVWii.WlW^^ 


room  has 
ring  moth 
luch  more 
you  know 
,  if  it  gets 
will  riddle 
spoil  them 

selfishness 
much  like 
[  in  all  our 
verywhere, 

sometimes 
itiraes  even 

noise.  It 
miller    and 

a  thousand 

for  you  to 
ill  of  moth- 
n  you  grow 

s  fluttering 
no  quarter. 

Ifish  people 
with  these 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  YOUTH. 


187 


miserable  moths,  it  is  the  generous,  unselfish  peo- 
ple whom  the  world  honors.    We  never  think  of 
honoring  selfish  Emperor  Nero  or  Caligula  or.King 
Henry  the  Eighth,  though  they  did  occupy  such 
high  places  ia  the  world  and  though  they  have  made 
so  much  history,  but  it  is  some  humble,  unknown 
man  whom  we  delight  to  honor.    It  is  that  pilot 
on  Lake  Erie,  for  instance,   who  stuck  to  the 
wheel  of  the  burning  steamer  until  the  parched 
skin  peeled  off  his  arms,  rather  than  turn  away 
from  his  post  of  duty,  or  it  is  Flo.  once  Nightin- 
gale who  went  into  the  fever-stricken  hospitals  of 
the  Crimea  t^  make  the  soldiers'  lot  a  little  easier, 
or  Ida  Lewis  who,  in  the  dark  and  stormy  night, 
rowed  out  upon  the  wild  billows  to  save  the  ship- 
wrecked sailors.     These  are  the  ones  whom  we 
love  to  think  of  and  to  honor.     They  were  not 
great  in  intellect  or  wealth  or  position  but  they 
had  unselfish  hearts,  they  had  not  allowed  the 
jnoths  of  self-indulgence  to  honeycomb  their  souls. 
We  need  not  go  so  far  away  from  home  to  find 
an  heroic  example  of  unselfishness.    A  few  days 
ago  a  Boston  boy  of  nineteen  was  going  across  the 
Broadway  bridge,  when  he  saw  a  younger  boy  fall 


'^i 


188 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


out  of  a  boat  into  the  water.  It  was  a  startling 
leap  of  forty  feet  from  the  bridge  to  the  water, 
but,  without  waiting  a  moment,  he  plunged  in, 
and  battled  with  the  swift  tide  and  caught  the 
drowning  boy,  and  at  a  terrible  risk  to  his  own 
life  he  saved  him.  How  the  moths  of  selfishness 
must  have  flitted  before  his  eyes,  irhen  he  made 
that  leap  as  he  thought  of  the  risk  he  ran  I  But 
I  think  he  must  have  killed  a  great  many  others 
in  his  life-time,  for  he  brushed  them  all  aside  and 
took  the  risk  and  saved  the  life.  All  honor,  I  say, 
to  that  Boston  bo}',  Thomas  Canfield. 

I  shall  mention  only  one  more  sapper  of  charac- 
ter. His  name  is  Dishonesty.  Not  glaring  dis- 
honesty, at  first,  which  would  lead  you  to  pick  a 
man's  pocket  or  take  a  dollar  from  your  employ- 
er's till.  This  sapper  never  begins  his  work  in 
this  way.  He  ends  it  there  often,  but  he  begins 
with  the  little  lie,  the  half  truth  that  is  often  worse 
than  a  lie,  the  endeavor  to  keep  up  appearances 
when  there  is  no  substance  behind  the  appearance. 
I  cannot  begin  to  give  you  all  the  warnings  which 
have  come  to  you  on  this  score  from  your  friends. 
But  I  will  record  one  which  I  hope  you  will  take 


iiiili1ilitfi>M.i*<!»lt 


M  w>li;«  _ 


■I.'.'  >.-JIJWJH>-i!i.illl  IJliljJWi-  JH-Ui".lW".#'.'^"li,'|iH'!*.Ui)flM'.^ 


n 


THE  ENEMIES  OP  YOUTH. 


189 


BtartHng 
e  water, 
nged  in, 
ight  the 
his  own 
ilfishness 
he  made 
in  I  But 
ly  others 
iside  and 
or,  I  say, 

)f  charac- 
aring  dis- 
to  pick  a 
r  employ- 
i  work  in 
le  begins 
ten  worse 
pearances 
ipearance. 
igs  which 
ir  friends, 
will  take 


to  heart:  *'My  observation  of  men  has  shown 
me  that  one  of  the  most  prolific  roots  of  evil  and 
one  of  the  hardest  to  eradicate  is  the  desire  to 
gjt  something  for  nothing.  From  this  spring  all 
forms  of  dishonesty  and  financial  rascality,  all 
cheating  in  trade,  all  gambling  devices,  and  it 
enters  largely  into  the  composition  of  all  shams. 
If  we  can  bring  a  youth  to  the  point  of  refusing 
to  receive  anything  of  value  without  giving  a  fair 
equivalent  much  has  been  gained.  I  would  teach 
a  boy  that  by  withholding  his  car  fare  when  he  is 
overlooked  by  the  conductor  he  violates  a  contract 
which  should  be  held  all  the  more  binding  because 
unwritten,  and  the  act  injures  him  more  than  it 
does  the  railway  company,  because  he  thereby 
impairs  his  own  integrity  —  the  last  thing  he  can 
afford  to  do." 

Our  daily  papers  are  sad  commentaries  on  this 
terrible  evil.  Hardly  ever  do  I  take  one  up  with- 
out seeing  something  about  the  last  forgery  or 
defalcation  or  embezzlement.  It  is  not  a  solitary 
explosion  here  and  there,  at  long  intervals,  but  our 
ears  are  deafened  and  our  hearts  are  made  sick  by 
the  explosion  of  these  mines,  where    character, 


ll 


I 


f 


100 


DANGER  SIGNALS. 


good  name,  fair  fame,  bright  prospects,  all,  all  are 
ruined.  And  j'et,  in  every  case,  the  sapper  began 
his  work  years  ago.  The  sly  glance  at  the  open 
book  on  examination  day,  the  interlinear  trans- 
lation, the  attempt  to  make  one  dollar  buy  two 
dollars  worth  of  goods,  the  effort  to  live  on  ten 
ddlara  a  week  and  appear  to  have  twenty,  the 
false  shame  of  honest  poverty;  by  all  these 
methods  the  wiley  sapper  is  slowly  eating  into  the 
character,  until  the  reckless  speculation,  the  mis- 
appropriation of  funds,  the  flight  to  Canada  or 
the  outlook  from  btbind-  prison  bars  reveals  how 
rotten  and  hopeless  is  the  character.  There  is  no 
reproach  resting  upon  the  American  name  today 
that  compares  with  the  reproach  of  financial  dis- 
honesty. Are  we  getting  to  be  a  nation  of  sharp- 
ers and  swindlers?  Our  defaulted  state  bonds, 
and  repudiated  debts,  our  Readjusters  and  Scalers 
in  politics  look  like  it.  Is  "  American  "  to  become 
a  synonym  for  sharp  practice  and  financial  crook- 
edness ?  Young  men,  you  have  something  to  do 
with  the  answer  to  that  question.  If  you  and 
those  whom  you  represent  are  not  on  your  guard 
the  sappers  and  miners  of  dishonesty  will  not  only 


THE  ENE>ilE8  OF  YOUTH. 


191 


blo  v  up  the  fortress  of  individual  integrity,  but 
the  fortress  of  nationiil  honor  as  well.  There  is 
a  useful  and  honorable  career  for  every  boy  in 
America  of  unstained,  transparent  honesty.  I  do 
not  refer  now  to  ordinary,  commercial  honesty, 
which  will  not  steal  any  more  than  it  can  steal 
safely,  which  makes  up  its  mind  to  be  just  honest 
enough  to  keep  out  of  jail,  as  honest  as  the  rest  of 
the  world,  but  to  integrity  of  that  high  standard 
which  makes  a  religion  of  honesty,  the  honesty 
which  would  not  overcharge  or  deceive  a  customer 
any  more  than  it  would  pick  his  pocket,  wliich 
would  not  take  the  slightest  advantage  of  another, 
even  when  it  would  never  be  found  out,  which 
could  not  be  surprised  into  a  lie  o\  frightened  into 
an  untruth.  The  times  are  waiting  for  such  young 
men,  watching  eagerly  for  their  development,  hold- 
ing out  hands  full  of  honors  to  them. 

Who  are  the  two  men,  who,  in  all  the  one  hun- 
dred and  nine  years  of  our  national  life,  are  the 
most  honored  and  loved  by  the  American  people  ? 
Honest  George  Washington  and  honest  Abraham 
Lincoln.  Some  people  say  that  Washington  was 
a  commonplace  man  iu  intellect  and  attainments. 


•^ 


192 


DANOEB  SIGKALS. 


that  there  have  been  many  greater  generals  and 
statesmen,  but  no  one  says  that  there  was  ever  a 
more  honest  man  or  a  ruler  of  greater  integrity. 
You  have  read,  perhaps,  the  recent  story  of  honest 
Abraham  Lincoln  ;  how,  when  a  rising  young  law- 
yer he  was  employed  on  a  case  which  he  became 
convinced  was  an  unjust  prosecution  of  an  inno- 
cent man,  he  persuaded  his  client  to  relinquish  it, 
and  announced  in  open  court  his  mistake  and  his 
abandonment  of  the  caso.  That  incident  is  only 
an  index  of  his  life.  His  honesty,  perhaps,  did 
not  make  him  president,  but  his  honesty  has  made 
his  name  revered  by  fifty  millions  of  people,  and 
will  perpetuate  it  as  long  as  America  lives. 

Do  you  desire  to  be  in  good  company?  Un- 
known on  earth  though  your  name  may  be,  do 
you  wish  to  be  ranked  in  God's  sight  with  the 
good  and  pure  and  true  ?  Let  me  whisper  in  your 
eiws,  boys  and  girls,  as  I  end  my  talks  with  you, 
you  never  will  thus  be  ranked  in  heaven  or  on 
earth  unless  you  shun  these  sappers  and  miners  of 
character ;  unless  you  kill  these  silently  working 
character  moths;  unless  you  look  out  for  "the 
little  foxes  which  spoil  the  vines." 


iVS^*^^^**'*^^**^'^'^*-^*^^*''^**^  '•'^^■^•"^ 


^'5^V»k-■;^■^=C-t^-^S't^Bwy^vt'*AW-fcVi^■^T«^  '" 


